Heir of Vitrius
by Zinoviev
Summary: Ben Solo-Skywalker – the only son of the revered Jedi-General Leia Skywalker and grandson of the first Chancellor of the New Republic, Padmé Amidala – is a disgruntled senator from Naboo, having been catapulted into power on the laurels of his esteemed heritage. The young senator's life is radically altered, however, when he receives a mysterious visitor. [Sequel to Heir of Vader]
1. Ania

**Author's Note: This is the sequel to my previous story, _Heir of Vader. _****You don't necessarily have to read that one to understand this story, but it would give you some important context. Another thing to note is that the events of this story take place three decades after the end of _Heir of Vader_ (which ends around the time ANH ended, not ROTJ). As a consequence, all of the characters are a bit younger than they are in the canonical sequel trilogy. Luke and Leia are just shy of fifty years old, Padmé nearly eighty, and Ben is only twenty-four (for reasons I will explain later on in the story). ****Furthermore, that means that Rey (who is a part of this story) is only fourteen years old. Therefore there will not be any Reylo in this fic. I apologize if that's your thing, but I'm not going to be shipping them here. They will have a relationship, just not a romantic one. **

**With that bit of logistics out of the way, I hope you enjoy the story!**

* * *

Chapter 1 – Ania

"We must act decisively and we must act now! While the insurgency is still in its nascent stage, we must crush the terrorists while we have the chance lest Imperial sympathizers begin to flock to their cause!"

"What you're talking about is war."

"I'm talking about security! How is this new republic going to survive if we allow these blatant anti-government renegades to roam freely in the Outer Rim?"

"The fleet isn't capable of conducting such a large scale operation."

"Then we must expand it!"

"I'd love to see a budget for that."

"I'll show you a budget!"

"Silence!"

An abrupt hush fell over the hall at this authoritative command. The squabbling senators ceased their debating and looked up almost reverently at the man seated at the head of the table, his chair slightly elevated behind a cream-colored podium. Leaning forward, the highly esteemed yet remarkably young senator peered down at his colleagues with a discontented scowl.

"These deliberations could go on for hours to no avail," he said, giving Senator Zorq a pointed look. The zabrak senator from Iridonia was the leader of the war hawks who were advocating for the New Republic to crush the extremist group of Imperial origins which was operating in the remote reaches of the Outer Rim. "Senator Zorq, I feel it necessary to remind you of my grandmother's warning to this assembly: we must not resort to costly and chauvinistic proposals such as the one you have been espousing. This Republic is founded on the basis of peace, not war. Or do you think she was wrong to promulgate a pacific agenda?"

Zorq bit his tongue and glanced behind him at his supporters who were congregated on the left half of the hall. "Forgive me, Senator. I did not mean to impugn the great Chancellor's legacy," he said, backtracking hastily before his superior's glower. "But circumstances have changed since Chancellor Amidala left office. Decisive action is required if this Republic is to survive."

"I can assure you my grandmother would not concur with your sentiments, Senator," he said coolly. "And therefore neither will I," he added for good measure.

"Are you really that simple-minded, Senator Solo?"

The hall fell deathly silent as every senator collectively inhaled. Face taut, jaw clenched, and eyes stormy, the young man turned to see who it was who had dared to say something so impudent.

"Is that how you got to sit in that chair? By being a mindless sycophant who renounced his father's name so as to capitalize on his heritage?"

The right half of the hall erupted in outrage on his behalf, the clamor echoing cacophonously in the high-domed hallway. For his part, young Ben Skywalker was too stunned to register indignation as he stared back at his insolent, yet no doubt exceptionally bold foe.

Much to his surprise, she was quite young. Quite a bit younger than himself, in fact – no older than eighteen or nineteen, he reckoned. Ben's attention was immediately drawn to the woman's eyes which were fixated on him intently, the dark brown irises deeply familiar to him for some reason. The young woman had sleek, black hair which was cut short at her shoulders. Her face was especially angular and distinctive, characterized by high cheekbones and a prominent, sharp-pointed nose. Her thin, colorless lips were pressed together firmly, a not-so-subtle smirk evident on the dimpled left corner of her mouth.

In spite of these unsavory features, however, Ben found that he couldn't stop looking at her. There was something incredibly enticing and intrinsically familiar about her, but he couldn't explain why…

"Master Skywalker, you need to impose order," an urgent voice said in his ear.

Shaking himself out of his paralysis, Ben turned and nodded appreciatively to his droid aide. Standing up out of his chair, Ben loomed over his colleagues with a vexed expression for a few moments. Senators could be so petty and childish. Such a juvenile display was thoroughly unbecoming to a committee as crucial as this one. The Council for Internal Harmony – or CIH as it was known in political jargon – had been founded by his grandmother in the aftermath of the destruction of the vile Empire over twenty years ago. When he had been asked to chair this committee, he had never thought that his responsibilities would be more akin to babysitting than to administration.

"Senators!" he bellowed finally, projecting his sonorous voice throughout the hallway with ease. "Silence!"

The hall complied with his demand at once, the high-pitched discord coming to an abrupt end as several dozen sets of eyes all turned to him. Refusing to reinitiate eye-contact with the mysterious female senator in the far left corner, Ben looked straight down the middle of the hall at no one in particular with an irritable glower.

"It is clear that this committee has ceased debating anything of substance and has dissolved into hurling baseless recriminations," he said, doing his best to keep his tone impassive and his countenance stolid. "For that reason, this session is to be adjourned until further notice."

With that, Ben sat down onto his chair, signaling a definitive end to the meeting. For a moment, nobody moved as they continued to stare back at him. Giving his colleagues an unambiguous look of dissatisfaction, the senators finally conceded to his authority and began to file toward the exits. Mollified, Ben exhaled loudly and glanced surreptitiously toward the raven-haired woman in the left corner of the hall…

She was still staring directly at him, intense brown eyes boring into his own when he met her gaze. Unable to stop himself, Ben gulped nervously and looked away quickly toward his aide who was diligently standing by his side.

"Who is that woman?" he asked in a whisper.

"I believe that is the junior senator from the Arkanis sector," the platinum-plated protocol droid informed him in a monotone voice.

"Arkanis?" Ben repeated incredulously. "Are you sure?"

Tatooine – which was the major planet in the Arkanis sector – was a subject of great interest to Ben on account to it being the home world of his uncle and grandfather. The latter of whom he admittedly did not know much about, but that didn't serve to stymie his interest in the planet. On the contrary, it only heightened his fascination. His grandfather was a subject of great importance to him, after all…

"Yes, sir," his assistant told him. "Her predecessor had to resign recently. Corruption, I believe."

Ben nodded absently at this. It was no surprise that the senator from Arkanis had been outed for corruption. What was far more confounding, however, was that he – and he most certainly had been a he – had been replaced by such a young woman. Tatooine was an infamously patriarchal planet. How had this enigmatic woman managed to get herself appointed senator from that district?

"Forgive me, sir, but I feel as if I must express my opinion," the droid said suddenly, stirring him from his thoughts.

Ben's mouth twitched, ever-amused by the droid's apologetic disposition. "A5, you know you can provide me with your opinion whenever you want," he said.

"I disagree, Senator," A5 said at once. "It would not be my place to bombard a sentient such as yourself with my calculations –"

"A5," Ben interrupted sternly. "Tell me your opinion."

A5 hesitated for a moment as he gave a furtive glance behind Ben's head to look at something in the distance. "Perhaps I should confer with you on this subject later," he said.

"But –"

"It would be most impolitic for me to express my opinion in her presence."

Bemused, Ben tilted his head at his flustered protocol droid. "What are you talking –"

"Senator Solo, a word?"

Ben froze, realizing the cause for A5's sudden reticence. Nodding subtly to his droid aide, Ben turned his head slowly to see the junior senator standing at the foot of his podium, her arms crossed in front of her chest as she looked up at him defiantly.

"I will be in the hallway, Senator Skywalker," he heard A5 say before waddling away with uncharacteristic speed. It seemed he too was intimidated by this mysterious woman.

Ben watched his cowardly droid companion depart for a few moments before reluctantly returning his attention to the junior senator. Feeling uncomfortable with the imperious nature of his seat, Ben stood up and descended the brief flight of stairs so that he could be on an equitable footing with his irascible colleague.

"I'm afraid we have not been acquainted," Ben said with a strained smile as he extended his hand to the diminutive woman. Now that they were closer to each other, Ben could fully appreciate how tiny she really was. If he had to guess, he would say she was no taller than five feet – and considering the fact that he was well over six, her Lilliputian stature was all the more pronounced to him. Despite this, however, she seemed to be quite sturdy as demonstrated by the firmness of her handshake and the breadth of her shoulders. The latter of which were accentuated by the scarred leather padding of her sun-bleached vest which fit tightly on her well-built torso.

Releasing her hand, Ben blushed and looked away awkwardly when he realized that he was staring. What was wrong with him? He was far too politically experienced to be committing such rudimentary social gaffes like this. He had been thoroughly rattled by this woman, no doubt. Everything about her thus far had been as engrossing as it had been unexpected.

"Indeed, we have not," she said, her eyes narrowed as she placed her arms behind her back stiffly as if in military formation. "I am Ania, the new senator from the Arkanis sector."

Ben arched an eyebrow, perplexed by the lack of a surname. "Just Ania?" he asked.

"Just Ania," she affirmed with a thin smile, having no doubt answered this question many times before. "I was a slave on Tatooine until I gained my freedom. I have no people. Not unlike your father, if I understand correctly."

At the mention of his father, Ben stiffened once more. Everyone knew better than to mention Han Solo to him, but perhaps she was too new to the Senate to know any better. Oblivious to his tension, Ania continued on. "Forgive me for the acrimonious nature of our first encounter, Senator," she said smoothly. "I needed to gain your attention, however. Judging by your reaction, I'd say I succeeded."

"Indeed, you did," Ben confirmed with a frown. She certainly had earned his interest, yet not for the reasons he suspected she had hoped.

"I'd very much like to discuss something with you, if you would be willing," she said. "I suspect what I have to say will be especially salient to you."

"And why might that be?" Ben asked, intrigued yet nevertheless irked by her presumptuousness. Who was she to know what would and would not be of interest to him?

"Because it pertains to your mother," Ania said, her eyes glinting triumphantly when she saw Ben's façade of impassivity falter – eyebrows rising and jaw slackening slightly at this unexpected revelation. His mother? What could she possibly have to tell him about her?

Needless to say, she had gotten his attention, alright.

* * *

"A5, I need you to clear my schedule for the day," Ben said upon striding into his office later that afternoon. "No meetings, no visitors, no nothing."

Aghast, A5's yellow eyes somehow managed to convey incredulity at this request. "But, sir –" he tried to say, but Ben cut him off.

"Just do it, ok?" he said curtly as he walked around his desk toward his chair.

"Forgive me, sir, but what about your grandmother?" A5 asked cautiously. "You are scheduled to meet with her in fifteen minutes."

How could he have forgotten? She had just returned from an extended stay on Naboo. Under normal circumstances, he would have been delighted to see her, but now the timing was truly terrible.

Sitting down on the plush purple chair behind his desk, Ben frowned as he scratched his temple pensively. "I suppose it's okay," he mused. "But I need to make sure she leaves fairly quickly. Clear everything else from my schedule, though," he added to A5.

Ben busied himself with cleaning his messy desk for a few minutes while A5 watched him from the corner. Disquieted by the droid's intent stare, Ben finally looked up to meet his aide's glowing eyes. "What is it?" he asked.

"Are you sure it is truly wise for me to clear your schedule, sir?" he asked cautiously.

Ben hesitated, suddenly understanding the reason for the droid's odd behavior. A5 was a highly sophisticated droid on account to the numerous tweaks and alterations Ben had made to his processing chip. No doubt, A5 had managed to deduce that Ben was planning to meet with Ania.

"You don't have to worry, A5," he reassured the antsy droid. "I know you don't like her – and if I'm being frank, I don't think I do either – but it can't hurt to hear what she has to say."

"On the contrary, sir, I think she could be quite dangerous," A5 warned ominously. "I advise you to be cautious in your interactions with that woman."

Ben arched an eyebrow, bemused by his droid's atypically strong opinion on this subject. "Why are you so nervous?" he asked. "She hasn't done anything wrong!"

"Other than call you a mindless sycophant?" A5 commented dryly.

"Okay, I'll give you that," Ben conceded. "But other than that –"

Ben was interrupted by a ringing sound emanating from down the hallway. "That must be Madame Chancellor," A5 said, sounding quite pleased as he made to answer the door. Panicking slightly, Ben grabbed a stack of miscellaneous papers from off his desk and stuffed them in an already overflowing drawer. He had only just managed to force the recalcitrant drawer shut when A5 returned with his grandmother in tow.

Brushing his hair out of his face, Ben stood up quickly to see his grandmother walking toward him with a radiant smile. "Benny!" she exclaimed upon seeing him.

Despite having always hated that nickname, Ben found it impossible not to reciprocate his grandmother's infectious smile. While her public persona was that of the dignified and refined Chancellor Amidala, Ben had always known her as his affectionate and vivacious grandmother Padmé. As a consequence, his love for her ran just as deep as his respect did; he was well-aware that his grandmother was a truly remarkable woman. He truly considered it a blessing to be her grandson, and given the fact that she had practically raised him since he was six years old, he attributed his political success to her.

A5 stepped aside as Ben walked around his desk to give his grandmother a hug, having to bend low to wrap his arms around her. She had never been a tall woman, and in her old age she had shrunken even more so. Diminished stature notwithstanding, however, Padmé did not show her age. Her face – while lined somewhat – was still alight with a youthful vigor and her eyes still sparkled with an unrelenting passion which Ben had only seen in scarcely few others. While her political rivals had attempted to dismiss her as being a senescent relic of a previous era, the reality was anything but. Padmé Amidala was more alive and vital than even the most effervescent of politicians.

"How was your trip?" Ben asked upon releasing her and standing back upright.

"Oh, it was fine," Padmé said with a sigh as she walked over toward his desk. Taking one big step, Ben passed her so that he could pull out the visitor's chair for her. Padmé gave him a sweet smile as she sat down. "I'm afraid there aren't many people left alive for me to visit, however," she lamented. "Ever since Sola died, the only people worth seeing are my nieces, and we were never that close anyway."

Ben nodded sympathetically as he sat back down at his seat across from her. "It's good to get away from here though, isn't it?"

"I suppose," she said with a shrug. "Retirement can be so boring, though." Ben smiled, ever impressed by his grandmother's unrelenting work ethic. She had been practically forced into retirement after the conclusion of her second term as Chancellor, and ever since she had been desperate to find something else to devote her passions. "How's your mother?" she asked suddenly. "I haven't seen her yet."

Ben licked his lips and glanced toward A5 who had stowed himself away in the corner of the room. "She's, er… she's fine," he said haltingly. "I haven't seen her in a while, actually."

"Oh no?" Padmé asked innocently. "Why not?"

"You know why," Ben said perhaps too tartly.

Disheartened by this response, Padmé pursed her lips and bowed her head. "I see," she said with a hint of melancholy. "What about your uncle? Has Luke been to the capital recently?"

"Not for a while," Ben said. "He's too busy with his students," he added, unable to keep the bitterness out of his voice.

"I see," Padmé said. "Perhaps we should invite him back. Get the family back together."

"Yeah, maybe we should," Ben said, wishing that this particular conversation would end.

Padmé gave him a doleful look for a few moments before sighing heavily once again. "She cares about you, you know," she said. "She's very proud of you."

"She does a great job of showing that, doesn't she?" Ben snapped, wincing at once when his grandmother flinched at this trenchant retort. "I'm sorry," he said hastily. "I didn't mean –"

"It's quite alright, Ben," Padmé said. "I understand why you're bitter. You have to understand that she's trying, though."

"Well she's clearly not trying hard enough," he said.

An awkward silence ensued as Ben looked down to inspect his cuticles with an angry glower. The entire galaxy extolled his mother for being the great General Leia Skywalker whom they revered as the vanquisher of the Empire and the flame of the Rebellion. It was she who brought the Rebellion back from the brink of destruction to defeat the Emperor's overwhelmingly superior forces. Her name was legendary; her fame superseding even that of her mother's, the universally beloved Chancellor Amidala.

Yet what the galaxy didn't know was that Leia Skywalker was a deeply troubled woman and a thoroughly mediocre parent. Ben didn't know what to attribute her failings to – whether it be PTSD from the war or depression from when her husband abandoned her nearly two decades ago – but what he did know was that her scars ran deep. In public she projected the persona of a strong-willed and determined general who would do anything to defend the Republic from Imperial sympathizers who continued to linger in the Outer Rim. Because of this, Zorq and his war hawks often times sought to recruit her to their cause, but she had never been interested in involving herself in politics, electing instead to remain neutral as the commander-in-chief of the Republic's armed forces.

At home, however, Leia was nothing like the impassive war hero whom the galaxy thought her to be. Ben knew his mother as a traumatized woman who would shut herself off from him for long stretches of time. The only person who could ever reach her during these episodes was his uncle Luke, but since he was busy training the next generation of Jedi, his mother would oftentimes go weeks without so much as speaking to him.

Ever since his father left when Ben was only six years old, these episodes had become increasingly frequent and severe. He had long since come to the realization that there was nothing he could do to help her, and he had instead sought out his grandmother as a source of maternal compassion. In that sense, he considered Padmé to be his parent more so than he did Leia. She had always been there for him, even during the midst of her chancellorship when she had been working more or less nonstop.

That being said, Ben didn't despise his mother like he did his father. In between her episodes, he could see her in the same light Padmé or Luke did. He knew Leia Skywalker was an incredible woman, it's just he didn't get to see that woman very often.

"How did the CIH meeting go?" Padmé asked after a long silence, her voice startling him back to the present. "I heard about it on the holonet during my trip back."

"You don't want to hear about that," he said with a wave of his hand.

"Please tell me, Ben," she supplicated with a hint of desperation in her voice. "I've had no one to talk politics with for over a month. I think I might go crazy."

Ben laughed and shook his head. He couldn't imagine why his grandmother was so eager to talk about something as dull as a CIH meeting, but perhaps that was why she was well suited to power. She derived satisfaction from bureaucracy and administration, rather than from glory or war. It was this fascination with the mundane which enabled her to be the greatest Chancellor this Republic had ever and would ever know.

"It's more of the same, really," Ben told her. "Zorq and his hawks are being as troublesome as always. They want to divert all of the budget to the military."

"What an idiot," Padmé said with a huff. "The war is over. Why is that so hard for some people to wrap their heads around?"

Ben's eyes glazed over as his grandmother began to unleash a diatribe, speaking vehemently against the hawks whom she abhorred above all else. As she spoke, Ben found his mind drifting back to Ania. What type of information did she have on his mother? It could be any number of things. After all, Ben knew hardly anything about his mother's past since neither she nor Padmé had ever been willing to tell him about it. All he knew was that she had been raised by her father and she didn't meet her mother until she was eighteen years old. Why that might be, Ben had no idea. Perhaps Ania could shed some light on that somehow…

"Ben? Ben are you listening to me?"

Ben blinked a few times as he returned back to the present. Padmé was looking at him with an expectant look, clearly having asked him something.

"Huh?" he said dumbly.

Padmé gave him a knowing smile as she pushed her chair out. "I can tell you have other things on your mind," she said. Without allowing him to insist the contrary, she continued on. "It was lovely seeing you again, Ben. I'm going to go see your mother now. I want the three of us to get together at some point for dinner."

Ben cringed, realizing that there was no way out of this. "Very well," he said therefore, standing up out of his chair. "Perhaps sometime later this week."

"Or this afternoon," Padmé suggested as she too stood up. Walking around the table to assist her, Ben smiled thinly as he offered her his arm.

"That sounds lovely," he forced himself to say. "I'm sure my mother will be delighted to see you."

"She better be," Padmé said as she grabbed his arm and allowed him to lead her toward the exit. "I am her mother after all."

Ben hummed in agreement, but internally he couldn't help but take umbrage with this assessment. In his experience, just being someone's mother didn't inherently warrant respect nor love.

* * *

**Author's Note: Hope you found the first chapter interesting. Just a quick side note for all those curious about pronunciation, Ania is pronounced the same as the name Anya, I just preferred the former spelling and felt it fit the SW universe better. Next chapter we'll get to meet the general herself, the highly esteemed yet deeply scarred Leia Skywalker, so do stay tuned!**


	2. Vitrius

Chapter 2 – Vitrius

Half an hour after his grandmother left, Ben was cleaning out his office in a more methodical manner when the bell rang once again. Ben looked up to the door and froze. He was on both hands and knees under his desk reaching mightily to grab a pen which had fallen through the cracks.

Panicking, Ben decided to forget the pen and go answer the door. As he did so, however, the back of his head slammed against the bottom of his desk with a deafening crack. Cursing, Ben awkwardly staggered out from underneath his desk and had just stood up when A5 arrived.

"The senator from Arkanis has arrived, sir," the droid informed him.

"Thank you, A5," Ben said as he rubbed the back of his head gingerly. Looking beyond the droid, he saw Ania standing in the shadows of the hallway.

"What happened to you?" she asked with a smirk.

"I, er… I hit my head," he confessed, blushing furiously as he extended his hand to her.

Ania's smirk deepened when she stepped into the office and accepted his hand. As they shook, Ben quirked an eyebrow, intrigued once more by her vice-like grip and callused touch. In his experience, he had never before met a female senator quite like Ania. All the others were dainty in comparison. In fact, the only woman he could compare her to was his own mother. Leia – while by no means politically naïve – had never been one to ascribe to the gender identities which were so prominent in political life on Chandrila. Her experiences in the war had no doubt hardened her much like how he suspected Ania's life on Tatooine had hardened her.

"Thank you for agreeing to meet with me, Senator Solo," Ania said as they both sat down.

Ben flinched. "I would prefer it if you referred to me by my chosen name," he said, struggling to keep his tone cordial. "I do not recognize that name as my own."

"Oh no? Why might that be?"

Ben grit his teeth and looked away at A5 who was watching this encounter silently from the corner of the room. "It's a personal matter."

"Fair enough," Ania said, blasé as she leaned back in her seat and resting her leg atop her thigh. Ben blinked in fascination as he watched her foot bob. Ania was perhaps the least conventional senator he had ever met. What was her story?

"So," she said after a brief silence. "Shall we begin?"

"Begin?" Ben repeated. "With what?"

Ania snorted at this question. "Why did you agree to meet with me?" she asked.

Ben frowned. Was this some sort of a trick question? "You said you had information about my mother. If you lied to me –"

"I didn't lie to you, _Skywalker_," she said, emphasizing his name sarcastically. "I know you're dying to know what I have to say. There's no need to pretend otherwise."

"Ok," Ben said. He leaned forward in his seat and rested his forearms on the desk in front of him. "Tell me what you know," he demanded.

"I will, but not until he leaves," Ania said, gesturing with her head toward A5 in the corner. "No droids."

Ben looked up toward A5 and hesitated. The droid's dire warning was ringing in his ears. Logically, he knew his droid friend was right to be apprehensive. After all, Ben knew nothing about this woman. Why should he believe her when she said she had information about his mother? He was desperately curious, however. Besides, it wasn't like he was in any danger. Either she had information or she didn't. What was the risk in hearing what she had to say?

"A5, leave us," he ordered. He didn't mean to be curt with A5, but he really wanted to hear what Ania had to say.

"Yes, sir," the droid said with a bow. Ben licked his lips as he watched A5 shuffle out of the office. Once the door had closed behind him, Ben turned back to Ania and tapped his fingers against the desk in anticipation.

"So? What do you know?" he asked.

Ania uncrossed her legs and leaned forward as well, meeting his enthusiastic grin with a sly smile of her own. "I know everything," she said. Her breath felt hot against his face since they were separated by less than a foot of space. "Whatever you want to know, I can tell you."

Ben was too excited to even consider how she had acquired this knowledge. All he could think about was the confidence of her voice; Ben was a shrewd enough politician to know when someone was lying, and he knew that Ania was telling the truth.

Bouncing his knee so much that his chair began to shake, Ben considered what he should ask. There were so many things we wanted to know…

"Why didn't she know who her mother was until she was eighteen?" he asked finally. He had pestered his grandmother with this question many times before, but he had never received a straight answer. It simply made no sense to him that they would have been separated for so long.

Ania narrowed her eyes and leaned back in her seat. "Interesting," she mused.

"What does that mean?"

"That's your first question?"

"What?" Ben asked. "Is that not a good question?"

"Oh, it's a fine question. Not the one I would have asked, that's all."

"Why not?"

Ania gave him a curious look. "You don't want to know where she received her training?" she asked. "You're not at all curious how your mother became the most powerful Force-sensitive in the history of the galaxy?"

Ben pursed his lips and glanced down at his lap, feeling supremely uncomfortable all of a sudden. "I mean… I'm not _not _interested," he mumbled. Looking back up at her, Ben was unnerved to see her staring back at him with intense scrutiny, her eyes running over his face as if she was analyzing a specimen.

"The answer is connected, anyway," she said finally, breaking the tense silence and allowing Ben to exhale in relief. "Or at least tangentially so."

"How do you mean?" Ben asked.

Ania's dark eyes glinted mischievously. "When Leia Skywalker was born, she was stolen from her mother by the Emperor himself," she said. "For the first eighteen years of her life, she was a slave of the Empire."

Ben felt his jaw slacken at this absurd claim. "She was a… a slave?" he repeated.

"Perhaps a slave is not an apt term," Ania amended as she reached down toward her right boot. Curious, Ben sat up a bit in his chair to see what she was doing. "Darth Sidious took your mother as his apprentice," she said upon producing a small, cylindrical package from her boot and looking back up to meet his eyes. "For eighteen years, your mother was a Sith Lord."

Ben shook his head at once, a humorless smile stretching across his taut face. "You're lying," he said. "That's not –"

With surprising force, Ania slammed the cylindrical package onto the desk, startling Ben into silence. Blinking furiously, Ben inspected the parcel closer. It was about a foot wide, swathed in a leather wrapping not unlike the material of which Ania's vest was composed.

"What's that?" Ben asked.

Without answering him, Ania extended her hand and removed the leather wrapping. Ben's eyebrows shot up his forehead when he saw what lay underneath.

"This was your mother's lightsaber," Ania told him when Ben tentatively reached out to grab the hallowed weapon. His fingers hesitated over the hilt for a moment, the profundity of the situation causing him to falter. He had never before held much less touched a lightsaber…

Pushing past his inhibitions, Ben wrapped his fingers around the cool metal of the weapon. It was made of sleek, lustrous material which molded perfectly to his hand. His eyes gravitated toward a small black protrusion about half way up from the base. It looked like some sort of a trigger, although he couldn't know for sure.

Ben cautiously placed his thumb over the button and pressed down. He jolted back in his seat when a blade erupted forth from the hilt, crackling zestfully a few centimeters from his nose. His eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at the vibrant blade. It couldn't be…

"This is the blade of Darth Vitrius," Ania told him. "Your mother."

The blade was red.

* * *

Ben felt dazed and decidedly light-headed as he got onto the elevator at his apartment complex later that afternoon. Mashing the button to his floor angrily, he exhaled loudly and leaned his forearm against the cool metal wall of the elevator as it began to ascend. Tapping his foot rapidly against the ground, Ben contemplated everything that Ania had told him that afternoon.

Logically, he knew that she had to be lying. His mother a Sith Lord? The claim was bombastic to the extreme! Leia Skywalker was renowned across the galaxy for being the vanquisher of not only the Empire, but of the Sith as well. It was one of the singular aspects of his mother's identity which he could genuinely appreciate to this day: she had been the one to defeat Darth Sidious himself, the most vile and evil individual the galaxy had ever seen!

Of course, his mother hadn't told him much about her famed duel with Sidious. All he knew about it came from second hand accounts. His uncle Luke had told him that Leia had killed Sidious with her lightsaber aboard the Death Star just before the station exploded. Since his uncle had always been hesitant to expound upon this story, young Ben had dreamed up dozens of possible iterations of this story, each one more heroic and fantastical than the next.

The revelation that his mother had in fact been a Sith Lord under Sidious' tutelage was therefore incomprehensible to Ben. It must be false! How could it not be? Leia Skywalker was a Jedi, everyone knew that!

Right?

He couldn't explain it, but Ben could just feel that Ania was telling him the truth. He had always had a knack for knowing when he was being lied to, and right now he wasn't detecting any sort of deception from Ania. He instinctively knew that she was telling him the truth.

Perhaps… perhaps it was the Force telling him this?

Ben had never been trained in the ways of the Force, and as long as his mother had her way, he never would. Luke – who had assumed the title as Grand Master of the restored Jedi Order after the war – had apparently wanted to train him, but his mother had refused. Why this might be, Ben had never known and this was therefore a source of tremendous vexation for him.

Ben enjoyed being a senator – really, he did! He was honored to be able to follow in his grandmother's footsteps. That being said, ever since he was a child, he had yearned to take after his mother and uncle and become a Jedi. The world of politics was just so dull compared to the world of the Jedi. He wanted to yield a lightsaber and master the ways of the Force! He would have vastly preferred to be able to become a Jedi like his mother rather than a senator like his grandmother.

Entering his teenage years, Ben had finally dispelled these dreams in light of his mother's unyielding intransigence. She had made it abundantly clear that he would not become a Jedi and had all but forced him into the world of politics. With his mother becoming increasingly distant to him after his father left, Ben had tried to convince himself that this was for the better. Why should he want to be like his misanthropic mother, after all? She was a miserable, unloving woman who didn't deserve his admiration. He didn't want to be like her at all.

But he had always known deep down that this wasn't true. He respected and adored his grandmother very much, but his mother had always been his true hero. She was the one he looked up to even if their relationship had become strained over the years. How could he not? She was the great Leia Skywalker! The most famous and powerful woman in the entire galaxy!

Was it all a lie? Was this mythical conception of his mother nothing but a fabrication designed to veneer her true, unsavory past? Had she really been Darth Sidious' apprentice for the first eighteen years of her life? Had she really managed to fool the entire galaxy, himself included?

Feeling the elevator come to a stop, Ben pushed himself away from the wall and stood upright. Brushing his long black hair out of his face, he took a deep breath to recompose himself. As the doors opened, however, his modicum of calm was shattered once more when he found himself face to face with the very person whom he had been thinking about.

"Mom?" he said incredulously, eyes widening in surprise as he took an instinctive step away from her.

His mother was standing in the atrium of his apartment with her hands held behind her back and her feet spread in a classic military posture which he was all too familiar with. Along a similar vein, she was dressed in her typical military uniform – a cream colored tunic emblazoned by a nondescript row of stars on the right breast which signified her rank, accompanied by a spiffy pair of navy-blue khakis and black leather boots. The intentionally humble attire was undermined somewhat by the inclusion of her lightsaber which was dangling from her belt and by the elaborately coiffed hairstyle featuring several intricate braids which were flecked with hints of grey, one of which descended down her back and well past her sinewy shoulders. All in all, his mother had a distinctively dominating presence which Ben had never seen replicated in another being; she was incredibly intimidating and frightening even, yet at the same time he could acknowledge that she was also exceptionally beautiful.

"Good, you're here," she said curtly. "We were beginning to worry."

Ben blinked a few times as he processed this statement, all the while trying to purge his mind of the thoughts he had just been contemplating moments prior. After all, Leia Skywalker was famous (or perhaps infamous from his point of view) for being able to read minds.

"We?" he repeated, attempting to wipe the fear of his face so that she wouldn't have any reason to suspect something was amiss. "What do you mean we?"

Leia narrowed her eyes, causing Ben to gulp nervously. For a few agonizing moments, she scrutinized his face with the attuned eyes of both a mother and a Jedi Master. He was a fool to think he could hide anything from her, wasn't he?

"Your grandmother insisted that we have dinner together," Leia told him finally, elevating her chin as she placed her hands on her hips. "I was beginning to think you wouldn't show."

He had forgotten all about the dinner, what with his conversation with Ania commanding the entirety of his attention that afternoon.

"I got held up at the office," Ben mumbled as he walked out of the elevator, his mother falling into step with him as he marched through the atrium and toward the main living area.

"What with?" Leia asked him.

Ben arched an eyebrow and glanced down at his mother. She never took interest in his work. Could it be that she had already deduced that something was awry? "What's it to you?" he asked, hoping that the hostility in his tone might disincentivize her from prying any further.

Leia shrugged and didn't offer a response as they walked through an arched doorway and into the kitchen. Across the room, Ben saw his grandmother seated at the head of the mahogany dinner table, hands rested on her lap while she peered out the curved window at the southern end of the apartment. Grateful to have an excuse to get away from his mother, Ben set his bag down on the kitchen island and walked over to greet her. Looking away from the window, Padmé smiled thinly at him as he approached.

"I'm sorry I forgot," Ben said, leaning down and giving her a kiss on the cheek. "I had a lot of work I had to do."

"I figured you would," his grandmother said, a mischievous glint in her eye. "That's why I had us meet here so you couldn't get out of it."

Ben heard his mother snort in amusement behind him, prompting Ben to wince. "I guess I do have a reputation," he said good-naturedly.

"You've never been punctual, Ben," Leia said, her voice permeated with a perpetual hint of disapproval. Clenching his jaw, Ben gave his grandmother a pointed look to convey his frustrations without words. How could she say that Leia was trying to be a better parent when she spoke to him like that? She was more drill sergeant than mother!

"Late is better than never, Leia," Padmé said as she got to her feet with Ben's assistance, clutching his arm firmly. "You of all people should know that."

Intrigued by this maxim, Ben tilted his head as he looked up toward his mother to gauge her reaction. As expected, she didn't offer any retort and merely accepted her mother's assessment with grim resignation. Padmé was the only person he knew who could instill a level of subordination in Leia. Logically, this made sense considering that the Chancellor was the only person above Leia in the hierarchy, yet Ben knew that there was more to it than that. Padmé Amidala was the sole person in the whole galaxy whom Leia was willing to take orders from.

Why that might be, Ben wasn't entirely sure, yet he always detected a hint of guilt whenever he saw his mother interact with Padmé. He always assumed that she felt bad for being separated from her for the first eighteen years of her life, but now he wondered if there was in fact something more sinister at play.

"What do you have in your kitchen, Ben?" his grandmother asked him, rousing him from his thoughts. Ben's mind felt foggy as he attempted to consider this question and stow away the mystery of his mother's past.

"Um… not much I'm afraid," he confessed after having wracked his brain for something remotely suitable for dinner. Ben had never been one to cook for himself, and he rarely had much food in his apartment because of that. "The replicator should do fine, though."

Out of the corner of his eye he saw his mother wrinkle her nose in disapproval. "A food replicator? Really, Ben?"

Indignation bubbled up within him as he turned to her, his fluster so great that he was unable to speak for a few moments. Who was she to belittle him like this? As far as he knew, she hadn't cooked for herself a day in her life!

"I'm sure I'll figure something out," Padmé interjected hastily. "Why don't you two take a seat?" Without waiting for a response, Padmé released his arm and sped off toward the kitchen. He and his mother both watched her retreat, each of them dreading the prospect of being left alone with one another.

Ben pursed his lips and glanced down at the shiny lightsaber hanging from his mother's belt. It looked practically identical to the one Ania had shown him, the sleek hilt appearing like a carbon copy of the one he had stored under lock and key in his office. The only difference was that the blade on her belt was blue whereas that one was red. It was undeniable that the two sabers must have been constructed by the same person…

"Are you going to sit down?"

Ben's head swiveled to the right to see his mother looking at him from a chair at the table, a single eyebrow arched as she tilted her head quizzically. Once again, it seemed Ben had zoned out and become lost in his thoughts. He really needed to stop doing that. To be fair, however, he had a lot to think about.

Taking a seat at the table opposite her, Ben stared determinedly out the window to avoid making eye contact. For a long while neither spoke, the rapping of Ben's fingers against the mahogany surface of the table producing the only sound in the oppressively awkward silence. He didn't know how to make conversation with his mother, now more so than usual. How could he? All he could think about was that she was a secret Sith Lord!

"I don't know if you heard, but your uncle is going to be visiting soon," Leia said suddenly, prompting Ben to look at her. "He just contacted me this morning."

"Oh yeah? That's great," Ben said, the enthusiasm in his voice not entirely contrived. "What's the occasion?"

"No occasion," Leia said with a shake of her head. "I suppose he just wants to visit. It's been a long time, after all."

Ben nodded as he pondered when he had last seen his uncle. Ben liked Luke. He was about as kind and good as any man could be. Ben was flabbergasted that he and Leia were related at all, much less twins considering how they seemed to be the polar opposite of one another in so many ways. In spite of their disparate nature, however, Ben knew that Luke and Leia were extremely close. Luke was without a doubt his mother's best friend and favorite person in the galaxy.

Ben was therefore genuinely glad that Luke was coming to visit. His mother was always in a good mood when Luke was around. On the flip side, however, his uncle's impending arrival augured a renewed attempt by Luke to foster a rapprochement between Ben and his mother. Luke was just like his own mother in that respect; his resolve to restore Ben and Leia's fractured relationship was tireless. No matter how many times Luke was rebuffed by both of them, he kept trying. At the very least, Padmé would give up – or perhaps become more subtle in her efforts – when she encountered resistance from either one of them. This was not the case with Luke. It seemed he had made it his life's mission to salvage Ben's relationship with his mother.

In light of recent events, Ben was certain there was no way that was happening. Everything he thought he knew about his mother had been altered by what Ania had told him. By now, he was completely convinced that Ania was telling the truth. His mother had once been a Sith Lord.

Darth Vitrius.

The name gave him chills, but more so than that it made him angry. How could his mother have lied to him about this for so long? Was that why his father had left her? Had he found out the truth and been so horrified that he'd decided to run away? Ben couldn't blame him if that was the case. Nevertheless, that didn't justify his actions. Han Solo would never be redeemed in Ben's eyes, no matter how horrible his mother may have been. Leia may have been a bad parent, but at least she was a parent. At least she had been here whereas Solo never was.

Despite the initial awkwardness, the rest of dinner flew by without further incident. While his mother was ill-tempered and brusque as always, he could tell that she was in a much better mood than usual. Padmé's return from Naboo and Luke's impending arrival no doubt had improved his mother's spirits. Indeed, she was downright pleasant at times during the evening, although Ben couldn't appreciate this rare occurrence in light of what he now knew.

Therefore as he was saying his goodbyes to his mother and grandmother later that night after dinner, Ben resolved that he would have to meet again with Ania. He needed to find out what else she knew. What else was his mother hiding from him?


	3. Ben

Chapter 3 – Ben

"Ania! Hey, Ania!"

The diminutive senator turned and arched her eyebrow when she saw him running toward her, A5 doing his best to keep up with his long strides as he pushed his way through the crowd in the busy hallways of the Senate building.

Three days had passed since Ania had told him about his mother's secret past as a Sith, and Ben was obsessed with finding her so that he could obtain more information. Ania had proven to be exceptionally elusive, however. On top of that, he had been busy with his senatorial obligations as well, so he had been unable to find the time to go looking for her. Fate seemed to be on his side today, though. He had only just left his office that afternoon to grab a quick lunch when he had spotted her amongst the crowd.

"Senator Skywalker, this is unexpected," she said when he reached her, although her tone indicated no such surprise. She smirked as she looked him over. "You seem out of breath," she noted.

"I, uh… I guess I am," he said, cheeks tinged pink with embarrassment. So what if he was out of shape? He was a senator! He didn't need to be in peak physical condition like Ania clearly was.

"Don't worry, Master Skywalker! I made it!"

Ben spun around to see A5 had caught up with him, the droid waddling as fast as he could through the crowd. Coming to a stop by his side, A5 looked down to see Ania. The younger senator met the droid's gaze with narrowed eyes.

"A5, this is Ania," Ben introduced. "Ania. A5."

"What need do you have for a droid?" Ania asked him in a judgmental tone. "Too cheap to pay for a living assistant, are we?"

Ben furrowed his brow in indignation. "Plenty of senators use droids," he defended himself.

"And that makes it right?" Ania fired back.

"I will have you know that I created A5 with my own hands," Ben said, jaw clenched. "He is the most loyal and adept assistant one could ask for."

"Why thank you, Master Skywalker," A5 said, his joints squeaking as he craned his neck to give his creator a look of appreciation.

"You made this droid?" Ania asked, her tone evincing surprise.

"From scratch," Ben confirmed. "You'll never find a more advanced protocol droid."

Ania raised her eyebrows and crossed her arms as she nodded. "I'm impressed," she said, causing Ben to swell with pride. "I wouldn't have thought someone of your stock would ever bother working with their hands."

His enthusiasm deflated at this backhanded compliment. "You'll find I'm full of surprises," he said with a surly frown.

Ania's mouth twitched, clearly amused by his defensiveness. "Perhaps so," she mused as she eyed A5 curiously one last time. "So what was it you wanted to talk to me about?" she asked upon returning her attention to him.

"Huh? Oh! Right," Ben exclaimed, blushing profusely as he fumbled awkwardly with his pockets. "I was just wondering if, er… if you could –"

"If I could tell you more about your mother?" Ania provided, mercifully cutting short his bumbling. When Ben nodded, Ania uncrossed her arms and glanced around at the stream of people passing by them. "Come with me," she whispered before reaching out and grabbing him by the collar of his shirt.

"Hey!" Ben objected as she pulled him away perpendicular to the crowd and toward a small alcove on the side of the hallway. Slapping her hand away, Ben straightened up and pushed his hair back out of his face. "What was that for?" he asked.

"Didn't want to be overheard," Ania grumbled, sparing a suspicious glance for A5 who was making his way over toward them, having a more difficult time with pushing past the incessant flow of people.

"What are you so afraid of?" Ben asked.

"You can never be too careful," Ania said vaguely as she turned her eyes back to him. The right half of her face was shrouded in shadow as she leaned in toward him. Ben instinctively pulled back a fraction, disconcerted by how close she was to him.

"So do you have any more information or not?" he asked in a whisper.

"Of course I do," Ania snapped. "But I'm going to need something in return."

"What? Why?"

"You think this information was easy to come by?"

"No, but –"

"This isn't a debate, Skywalker. I have a commodity you desire greatly. I'm going to require compensation accordingly."

"What kind of compensation are we talking about?" Ben asked nervously.

Ania didn't respond, narrowing her eyes as A5 finally made his way back to Ben's side. "Master Skywalker, I must object –"

"Not now, A5," Ben said tersely with a raise of his hand. "Ania, tell me what –"

"Not here," she hissed. "Later and in a secure location, we'll talk."

"Fine," Ben said. "When and where?"

"How about this afternoon?" she proposed.

"Works for me," Ben said at once.

"Pardon me, Master Skywalker, but –"

"Shut it, A5."

"But Master Skywalker, you are scheduled to meet your uncle at the docks this afternoon. I cannot reschedule for the sake of this… exchange."

Ben slammed his palm to his forehead in frustration. He had forgotten all about that! Luke was returning to the capital this afternoon and he had promised to pick him up. Why must his family obligations always interfere with his pursuits with Ania? It was as if they were deliberately sabotaging him!

"Your uncle? Luke Skywalker, you mean?"

Ben inclined his chin as he lowered his hand. "Yes," he said, giving Ania a suspicious look. "What does that matter to you?"

"I'd very much like to meet him," Ania told him innocently. "It's not every day you get to meet the Grand Master of the Jedi Order."

Ben shared a look with A5 whom he could tell – in spite of his perpetually blank expression – shared his unease at this statement. "You seem to be very interested in my family, Ania," Ben said slowly. "Why would that be?"

Ania snorted at this. "The Skywalkers are the most famous family in the galaxy," she said. "How could I not be interested?"

"You want something from me, don't you?"

"Of course I do," Ania said without shame. "You are a very influential man, after all."

"What is it you want?"

Ania smiled wryly and shook her head. "Now why would I tell you that?" she said coyly. "It would make it much more difficult to manipulate you."

Anger sparked up within him at this flippant remark. Who was she to speak to him like this? Nobody manipulated him! He was Ben Skywalker!

Before he knew what he was doing, Ben thrust his hand toward her and snatched her by the wrist. Shocked, Ania stumbled a bit as he pulled her closer to him.

"Oh dear!" he heard A5 exclaim.

"I don't appreciate being toyed with like this," he growled, disregarding his droid's qualms as he increased the pressure on Ania's wrist. "Tell me what you know."

Ania's surprise melted away as quickly as it emerged, her dark eyes glinting as a devilish smile stretched across her colorless lips. "Take me to your uncle and I'll talk," she said in a low voice.

"What do you want with Luke?"

"Him? Nothing."

"But –"

Ben ceased talking abruptly when he felt a sharp jab in his flank. Doubling over, he released his grip on Ania's wrist. As he did so, Ania grabbed him by the shoulders and kneed him in the gut with brutal force. Utterly winded, Ben fell to his knees by Ania's feet with a thud.

"Master! Master!"

"Enough questions, Skywalker," he heard Ania whisper in his ear as she leaned down to his prone form. Ben heaved and let out a horrific cough, spewing saliva all over the floor and onto Ania's boots. "You can't bully me like you can your other colleagues," she said. "I will tell you what I know and in return you will compensate me without any further questions. Do you think you can do that?"

Ben nodded without hesitation, his sternum aching with a terrible, dull pain from where Ania had struck him. "I.. I can," he wheezed.

"Good," Ania purred as she ran a hand through his hair. Ben winced as her fingernails scraped against his scalp. He had never before felt violated like this. How dare she touch his hair! "You will be very helpful to me, Skywalker. And I to you, should you adhere to this arrangement."

Force, he hated this woman.

Later that afternoon, Ben stopped by the Senatorial Apartment Complex to pick up Ania. As a senator himself, Ben technically could have lived in these ritzy apartments, yet he had chosen to live elsewhere in the city. He didn't like living in such close quarters with his political rivals. Besides, his mother had insisted that he live closer to her – ostensibly so that she could protect him should he become the target of assassination attempts like Padmé had been during her youth, but Ben suspected it was simply because she wanted to keep an eye on him.

Regardless, Ben was glad he didn't live near Ania. In light of what she had done to him in the Senate hallways earlier that afternoon, Ben was beginning to rethink his relationship with her. It was clear that she wanted something from him or his family and she was dangling this information on his mother's past as bait.

So why was he parked in front of her apartment in his speeder? Logically, he knew it wasn't wise for him to continue to engage with her. Nevertheless, Ben was still too curious to learn more about what Ania knew to give much thought into the risks. What could he say? Ben had never been one to care much about consequences.

Even so, he was afraid about what would happen when Ania met Luke for the first time. He had been quite careful to keep their relationship a secret to his family to this point. No doubt, if his mother found out about her she would shut it down in an instant. He had to maintain Ania's anonymity and make sure that Luke didn't find out too much about her.

Ben's thoughts were cut short when the door to Ania's apartment opened vertically. Striding forth onto her patio and toward his speeder was Ania herself. When he laid eyes on her, Ben was unable to stop his mouth from falling open.

The first thing he noticed was the cape. Her petite figure was framed by an olive green cape which billowed proudly behind her in the breeze. The flowing fabric greatly enhanced her stature, granting her otherwise diminutive appearance a commanding weight which attracted attention to her. In addition to the cape, she had also changed out of her drab black senatorial outfit into a tight-fitting tan jumpsuit which was interrupted only by a proud brown belt emblazoned with silver studs. To cap off the bold outfit, she was wearing a pair of black leather boots which terminated just below her knees.

Quite simply, she looked incredible.

"You're late, Skywalker," Ania said as she swung the door to his speeder open and sat down in the passenger seat.

Ben blinked a few times as he continued to gape at her in awe, his brain taking a few moments before internalizing her acerbic greeting. "No, I'm not!" he finally managed to say, a delayed sense of indignation rousing him back to his senses. "I'm exactly on time!"

Ania shrugged as she fastened her seatbelt. While she was doing this, Ben noticed that she was wearing black leather gloves on her hands. She certainly had a very distinctive fashion sense with a flair toward the dramatic. "I expected you would arrive early," she said as she looked up at him. "I know you're excited to hear what I have to say."

Ben met her gaze silently for a few moments as he contemplated her inscrutable expression. "You think I'm a fool, don't you?" he asked finally.

"A fool? Not at all," she dismissed at once, waving a gloved hand as she turned away from him. "I understand your desperation. It is only natural to crave knowledge about one's parents."

Ben arched an eyebrow at this comment. "What about you?" he asked brazenly. "Do you have parents?"

Ania frowned as she stared straight ahead toward the bright lights of the city before them. "Remember our arrangement, Skywalker," she said brusquely. "No questions."

Ben looked at her for a moment longer before exhaling and looking away. He didn't know why he was so fascinated with her story. There was something about Ania which had captivated him. Perhaps it was the fact that she was so unconventional that was so intriguing. Either way, he found himself in the peculiar predicament where he knew he ought to be dissociating himself from her, but instead he found himself growing more and more attracted to her.

Starting the engine with the press of a button, Ben disengaged the speeder from Ania's patio and took off into the late afternoon traffic. For a long while, neither spoke as Ben zipped in and out of traffic on his way to the spaceport. Squinting, Ben held his left hand up to his eyes and drove with his right as he fought off the fading afternoon light. The sun was in the process of descending beneath the horizon and the entire city was bathed in an intense golden light which reflected off the countless number of buildings and speeders directly into his retinas.

"I like the cape," Ben said finally, sparing a side glance toward Ania before returning his attention to the traffic. "It looks cool."

"Thanks," he heard Ania say, sounding pleasantly surprised yet also a bit wooden. He doubted she received compliments like that very often and it was likely he had caught her off guard with the innocent remark.

"Let's get to talking," Ben suggested, steering the conversation back to her comfort zone. "What else do you know?"

"I already told you, Skywalker," she said. "I know everything."

Ben suppressed the urge to ask her how she knew all this, knowing that his question would be shot down the moment he vocalized it. "My grandmother," he said instead. "Does she know?"

"About Vitrius?" Ben nodded without looking at Ania. "Of course she does," she said. "They first met when Vitrius captured Amidala's ship and took her prisoner."

"She did what?!"

"Amidala was a key member of the Alliance. Vitrius was the Emperor's hand and had just been given the assignment of finding the location of the Rebel Base. Amidala had been on her way to Tatooine to meet with an old friend when her ship was intercepted."

"To Tatooine?" Ben asked as he swooped past a particularly slow-moving speeder in front of them and accelerated down the air lane. "That's where Luke's from. Wait a minute –"

"That is where I am from as well, yes," Ania confirmed. "Much to my dismay."

"But –"

"This subject has no bearing to the story I am trying to tell you, Skywalker," Ania interrupted curtly. "May I continue?"

Ben nodded, but internally his mind was whirling. If Ania was from Tatooine just like Luke, could it be that they knew each other somehow? What if Luke was her source of information? Or perhaps –

"Amidala had been searching for her lost children for nearly two decades with the assistance of her old friend Bail Organa of Alderaan," Ania continued. "Organa had finally managed to uncover the whereabouts of an old Jedi Master who had disappeared after the fall of the Republic. Amidala had reason to believe that her son was with this Jedi."

"Why would that be?" Ben asked as he licked his lips with anticipation.

"This Jedi Master had been present when she gave birth to her twin children. After Luke was born, it was revealed that the Emperor had arrived and was on his way to find them. Amidala told the Jedi to flee with her son, having not known at the time that she was carrying twins."

Ben's eyes widened as he realized what must have happened from there: Sidious had arrived just as his mother was born. "He stole an infant?" he asked, aghast. "What kind of monster would do such a thing?"

"The Sith are the embodiment of all things evil," Ania said with a growl. "Sidious represents the pinnacle of their monstrosity."

The pair fell silent for a few moments as Ben absorbed this terrible information. He had always known that Sidious was evil – hell, everyone knew that – but never had he imagined anyone doing something so horrible. Wrenching a newborn baby out of her mother's arms? There were scarce few things worse than that, Ben reckoned.

"Who was the Jedi?" Ben finally asked, pushing past the lump in his throat. "And why was my grandmother able to find him?"

"Amidala wanted him to take her son to her home world of Naboo, but the Jedi refused," Ania told him. "He feared the Emperor would look there, so instead he took him to a remote world in the Outer Rim."

"Tatooine," Ben said.

"Indeed," Ania affirmed.

"What was this Jedi's name?" Ben asked, not sure whether he should feel grateful or bitter toward this mysterious Master. On the one hand, he was responsible for saving his uncle from the Emperor. On the other, however, it was his fault that his grandmother had been separated from her children for the first eighteen years of their lives.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Ania arch an eyebrow curiously. "You really don't know, do you?" she asked.

"Of course not!" Ben insisted. "Why should I know that?"

"Because he is your namesake."

Ben was unable to stop himself from looking away from the traffic as he swiveled his head to Ania. "What are you talking about?" he asked.

"Obi-Wan Kenobi was the Jedi Master who looked after your uncle for eighteen years on Tatooine. It was on Tatooine where he assumed a new moniker to hide his identity, however: Ben Kenobi."

"But why haven't I heard of him?"

"Because Ben Kenobi was killed by your mother, Darth Vitrius," Ania explained in a low voice. "It was she who killed the penultimate Jedi in the galaxy and nearly destroyed the Order for good."

Ben's mind was still buzzing with the revelations Ania had bestowed upon him when they finally touched down at the spaceport late that afternoon. Feeling as if he were in a daze, Ben shakily alighted from his speeder and blinked furiously as he stared blankly ahead.

He wasn't sure which piece of information was more astounding: that his mother – the greatest Jedi to ever live – had once killed a Jedi Master in cold blood, or that she had been tasked by Sidious with destroying the very Rebellion which she would later on lead to victory. The more Ben came to know about his mother's past, the less he understood. How could it be that everything he had thought he knew about her was a lie?

"How you doing over there, Skywalker? Holding up?"

Ben turned sharply to see Ania standing next to him, an oddly solicitous expression painted across her typically impassive face. "I'm, um… I'm okay," he said disingenuously as he looked away from her back toward the bustle of the spaceport. "Just a bit lost for words."

"I know that feeling," Ania said. Ben stiffened when she reached up and patted him on the back in what he guessed was intended to be a reassuring gesture. Ben arched his eyebrow and glanced down a second time at Ania. The vicissitudes of her temperaments were utterly perplexing to him. In one moment she could be candid, enticing, and vivacious yet in the very next she could be cold, calculating, and downright hostile.

"I just don't know what to think," Ben said as they began walking in unison down the landing docks. "It seems like everything I thought I knew about her was a lie."

"The galaxy is built on lies, Skywalker," Ania said darkly. "Neither of us would be where we are if it weren't for lies." Ben frowned as he internalized this statement. What was that supposed to mean? "Regardless, you shouldn't let this alter your perception of your mother."

"How can I not?" Ben asked, surprised that Ania of all people would make this suggestion.

"Leia Skywalker may have an unorthodox past, but she did still defeat the Sith and overthrow the Empire," she said as they collectively swerved out of the way of a babbling trio of pit droids. "As a former slave, I can appreciate how difficult it must have been for her to overcome the adversity of her past."

"You really admire her, don't you?" Ben asked as he came to a stop at the gates of the landing pad in question.

"She's my idol," Ania said, eyes shining as she met his gaze with a smile. Ben could tell at once that she was being genuine – he didn't think he had ever seen Ania's face light up like this before. "I don't think you fully appreciate what an honor it is to have her as your mother."

There it was: the obligatory dig against him. Why did she always have to do that? She had been acting respectable and even somewhat endearing up to that point. "You don't know everything, Ania," Ben grumbled as he turned away from her and walked through the doors and up the flight of stairs toward the landing pad.

As another set of doors slid open before him, Ben was greeted by an aromatic cloud of exhaust which billowed up in dense, brumous waves. Sputtering slightly, Ben waved his hand through the gas and pushed forward. Behind him he could hear that Ania had followed him, her footsteps pattering softly in the background.

Emerging from the clouds of exhaust, Ben came to a stop when he saw the ship which was waiting for them on the landing pad.

"I know this ship," Ben mused as he craned his head and took in the rather dingy looking freighter.

"You do?" Ania asked, catching up to him and stopping by his right side. "From where?"

Ben didn't answer her. He didn't remember ever seeing the ship before, but somehow it felt so familiar. It was as if…

"Ben! So good of you to show."

Ben looked sharply to his left when he saw a hooded figure emerging from the exit ramp which had just finished unfurling. Reaching the bottom of the ramp, the figure walked over toward him and flicked his wrist, removing the hood without touching it.

"Uncle Luke!" Ben exclaimed upon seeing the boyish face of the Grand Master. Luke had a shaggy mop of tawny blonde hair which covered his ears and terminated just above his shoulders. His vibrant blue eyes coupled with his freshly-shaven countenance served to render Luke far younger in appearance than in years. Both Luke and Leia were like that; on more than one occasion he had heard his grandmother bemoan the fact that they didn't seem to age like she had.

"It's been far too long, Benny boy," Luke said as he gave him a hug. Ben cringed as he leaned down to meet the embrace of his much-shorter uncle. No doubt, Ania would find this particular nickname amusing and the sound of a snicker behind him confirmed that at once.

Upon hearing this derisive laugh, Luke released Ben and looked behind him. "Who is this?" he asked him.

"I'm Ania," Ania said without waiting for Ben to introduce her. "I'm the junior senator from the Arkanis sector," she explained as she extended her hand to Luke.

"Arkanis, eh?" Luke said as he shook her gloved hand. "That's… that's where I'm from," he said, faltering half way through that statement as he narrowed his eyes at Ania. "Do I know you?" he asked, still holding onto her hand.

"No," Ania said quickly.

Luke continued to stare back at Ania for a few moments before finally releasing her hand. Blinking a few times, Luke briefly glanced up at Ben before returning his attention to his new acquaintance. "Well, it's a pleasure to meet you Ania," he said cordially, although not without a hint of suspicion. Ben watched his uncle's expression closely, fascinated by his odd reaction. "How do you know my nephew?" Luke asked.

"He and I are colleagues," Ania said. "We met at the CIH meeting last week."

Luke nodded, clearly not knowing what CIH stood for. Ben couldn't blame him. The sheer number of acronyms for the senatorial subcommittees was daunting even to him.

"Just last week?" Luke repeated, sounding incredulous. "That's… that's incredible."

"Incredible how?" Ben asked, quirking an eyebrow at this odd comment.

"You move fast, Ben," Luke said with an avuncular smile as he patted him on the shoulder. "I suppose you're very much like your grandfather in more ways than one."

Ben glanced at Ania who seemed just as bemused as he was by this assessment. "The hell are you talking about, Luke?" Ben asked.

Luke's smile faltered as he looked between Ben and Ania's confused expressions. "Wait, you're not –"

"No!" Ben and Ania exclaimed at the same time.

"Oh," Luke said, dejected. "I just thought –"

"You thought wrong," Ben said perhaps too sharply.

Luke hesitated once again as he gave Ben a curious look, eyes narrowed as he scrutinized him. A tense silence ensued as Ben gulped nervously under his uncle's hawkish gaze. Perhaps he and Leia were more alike than he had given them credit for…

"Interesting," Luke finally mused. "Most interesting."

Ben contemplated asking what Luke meant, but ultimately thought better of it. The less time Luke spent investigating his relationship with Ania the better. Instead, Ben cleared his throat awkwardly and made to shift the conversation. "That's quite the ship you've got there," he said, pointing to the freighter behind him. "You got a reason for having a ship that big? Carrying some sort of cargo?"

"Oh no, no cargo," Luke said with a chuckle.

"Then why –"

"I must say I'm surprised," Luke interrupted. "You don't remember the Falcon at all?"

Ben tilted his head. "If this hunk of junk is the Falcon, then no," Ben said, not entirely candidly. He did have a faint recollection of this ship, but it felt more like something from a dream than from a memory.

Luke grinned broadly and gave a hearty laugh. "I suppose that's understandable," he said. "You haven't seen it in a long time, after all."

"Why not?" Ben asked. "What is this ship?"

Luke didn't answer him, electing instead to reach into his pocket and produce a comlink. Ben watched as his uncle activated the device with a press of his thumb. "Come on out," he said into the microphone.

"Who was that?" Ben asked, yet Luke once again refused to answer him. Beginning to grow frustrated, Ben was about to ask more forcefully for an explanation when he heard the distinctive clang of boots against metal reverberating about the landing pad. Looking past Luke, Ben saw a second figure descending the ramp toward them.

Luke watched him warily as Ben kept his eyes fixated on the man approaching. As his face came into view when it emerged from out under the shadows of the freighter, Ben's whole body stiffened viscerally. Albeit considerably more grizzled and greyed than he remembered, Ben could recognize that face anywhere.

"Han Solo," Ben spat, a vicious anger surging through him at the sight of the man who had abandoned his mother and him nearly twenty years ago.

"Hey, kid," Han said softly as he came to a stop next to Luke, hands stuffed awkwardly into the pockets of his leather jacket.

Ben's face twitched and he took an instinctive step back. "Ania, we're leaving," Ben said out of the corner of his mouth.

Han frowned and looked at Luke. "What's he talking about?" he mumbled to his friend.

Luke's eyes darted behind Ben and suddenly widened. Following his uncle's gaze, Ben felt his anger be momentarily replaced with shock.

Ania was gone.


	4. Solo

**Author's Note: This chapter contains profanity which some readers may find off-putting. Furthermore, I made the conscious choice to use regular swear words because I'm sorry, but I just can't take 'kriff' seriously. If either of these things bother you, apologies in advance for Ben's potty mouth. **

* * *

Chapter 4 – Solo

For about a full minute, Luke, Ben, and Han all looked at each other silently. Never before had Ben felt so awkward and so angry in his life. Not only had Luke utterly betrayed him, Ania had also abandoned him in his time of need. Sure, they weren't friends in the conventional sense, but for some reason Ben had expected her to support him. Yet she had fled instead. How had she even managed to leave without either him or Luke noticing?

Finally, Han broke the tense silence. "I apologize for not telling you in advance that I was coming," he said woodenly. "I didn't want you to be angry."

"You didn't want me to be angry?" Ben repeated in a high voice. "Are you for real?"

"I'm sure you two have a lot to say to each other," Luke mediated as he held up his hands. "But perhaps we should spare the acrimony for later," he said, giving Ben a pointed look. "We can work everything out in private with Leia."

"I don't see any reason to delay," Ben said icily. "I've been waiting for nearly twenty years, you know, Luke."

"I know, but –"

"And I'm sure my mother would endorse me if I chose to do this," Ben interrupted. Without further elaboration, Ben raised his fist and swung directly at his father's head.

The blow never landed. Han flinched and stumbled backward, but Ben was completely frozen – his knuckles suspended in the air a few feet from Han's prominently protruding nose.

"Your mother would not condone violence like that, Ben," Luke growled, jaw clenched angrily as he kept his nephew immobilized with the Force. "You should know that."

"Let me go," Ben growled through gritted teeth.

"Not until you promise not to take another swing at your father."

Ben snarled at Han before nodding his acquiescence. With a twitch of his neck, Luke released Ben and his fist went plummeting back to his side. Breathing heavily, Ben took a step away from Luke and dug his fingernails into thigh. Han was so lucky Luke was here to protect him. If he could have his way with the old man…

"Hey, Dad? Dad, can we come out now?"

Ben's eyes widened as he looked beyond Han toward the ship where the female voice had come from. Han winced when he saw Ben's incredulous stare.

"There's not much point in delaying, is there?" Luke said to Han as he gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder. Han sighed and nodded, sagging his head to avoid Ben's fiery eyes. "It's alright, you can come down!" Luke called out on Han's behalf.

Ben seethed as he waited with furious anticipation. A few moments later, two women descended from the ramp one after the other. The first one was quite young, in her early teens he reckoned. She ran down the ramp with buoyant, girlish enthusiasm and made her way toward Han with a smile, three tightly-wrapped brown buns bouncing as she did so. Behind the girl was an older woman – her mother he supposed. She looked about Han's age, perhaps a bit younger. Her long mousy hair had a singular streak of silver down the part which cascaded well past her shoulders and down her back in a rather elegant braid.

The young girl reached Han first, grabbing onto his much larger hand and leaning into him with the type of familiarity that only family could have with one another. When she met Ben's eyes, her smile faded a fraction as her effervescence waned in the face of his projected fury. Nevertheless, she didn't seem to be terribly intimidated by him like Han was.

"I'm Rey," she greeted cheerily. "You must be Ben."

Ben blinked rapidly as he stared back at the girl with his mouth hanging ajar. "Um… yeah," he managed to say. Was Han this girl's father? Did that make her… his sister? No, that couldn't be…

"Ben, this is my girlfriend Qi'ra," Han said awkwardly. Ben looked up from Rey to see that the older woman had reached them as well and was standing behind Rey by Han's side. Qi'ra had a pleasant, somewhat nondescript face. Unlike Rey, Qi'ra seemed to be fully aware of the tension of the situation as her lips were pursed nervously whilst she looked back at him with a strained expression.

"I… I can't believe this," Ben stammered, feeling supremely light headed all of a sudden. "Is this… is this really happening?"

"Ben, I know you're probably upset –"

"I'm not upset! I'm furious!"

"Ben –"

"You haven't seen me in twenty years and now you just show up with a whole other family?" Ben exclaimed, hands gesticulating angrily at his sides. "What did you expect was going to happen?"

"Believe me, I didn't want things to go this way," Han said, but Ben wasn't having it.

"You!" he yelled, pointing his index finger at Luke who to this point had been watching the proceedings silently off to the side. "You brought him back!"

"I did," Luke affirmed with a solemn nod of his head. "For good reason, Ben. It's time you and your mother to come to terms with Han."

"That's bullshit!" Ben retorted, spit flying out of his mouth as he was overcome with virulence. "This is all bullshit!"

"Ben –"

"Stay the hell away from me, Solo!" Ben bellowed as he turned to leave the landing pad in a rush. "I don't want anything to do with you!"

* * *

Ben was lying supine on his bed back in his apartment when he heard a brisk knock on the door. Startled, Ben jolted upright at the sound. He was supposed to be alone here…

Upon running away from his father on the landing platform, Ben had rushed toward his speeder and made for home. In his fluster, he hadn't even spared a thought to where Ania had gone off. He was grateful she hadn't stolen his speeder, at the very least.

He'd like to say that he had gone home to scream profanities at the walls and unleash his rage upon his unsuspecting furniture, but the reality had been anything but. He had cried. He had been ashamed, but he hadn't been able to stop himself. The waves of emotions – anger, confusion, aggrievement, and sorrow – had all cascaded down on him the moment he had slammed the door to his room closed.

He had only just hastily wiped away the last of these tears when the door swung open. Sitting up on his bed, Ben looked through his bloodshot eyes to see his mother standing in the doorframe, her expression inscrutable as always.

"Mom?" he asked in a small voice, feeling very much like a child all of a sudden.

"Luke told me what happened," she said rigidly, making no move to enter the room.

"Did you know?" Ben asked accusatively.

Leia shook her head somberly. "I was as angry as you are," she confessed. "Luke had told me about the girl, but not about… him."

"The girl?"

"Never mind that," Leia said as she finally broke the plane and took a tentative step toward him. "Ben, I'm… I'm so sorry Luke put you through that. It was wrong of him to surprise you."

Ben sniffled as he wiped at his nose. Looking down at his lap, it suddenly struck him how naturally he and his mother were acting around one another. The first emotion he had felt when he saw her standing in his doorway wasn't dread like it had usually been, but instead he had felt… relief.

His mother was here to look out for him. For the first time in years, he had seen her in the same way he had when he was six: as a loving mother. How strange was it that he could see her in this light even now that he knew the dark secrets of her past.

Overcoming her own obvious discomfort, Leia took two more steps toward him before taking a seat next to him at the foot of the bed. For a long time the two merely sat there in silence, each marinating in their respective thoughts and frustrations.

"I hate him, Mom," Ben finally confessed, his voice thick and garbled with malice. "I know I shouldn't, but I can't help it. I hate him for what he did."

Leia sighed heavily and shook her head. Placing a warm hand on his thigh, she whispered, "Nothing good can come from hatred, my dear." Ben swallowed hard and closed his eyes, relishing and marveling at the tender manner in which his mother was treating him. When was the last time she had ever called him something so affectionate?

"Ben, I know this is hard but I need you to be strong," Leia continued, her voice caressing him in a most maternal fashion. "You can't run away from your father forever."

"Why not?" Ben asked petulantly.

Leia didn't answer him for a long while, and for the briefest of moments Ben thought his retort had stumped her. Finally, however, she spoke. "There was a time in my life when I felt the same way about my father as you do about yours," she said softly. "I absolutely despised him. I thought he was the worst person in the entire galaxy. Do you know what he said when I told him that I hated him?"

Ben shook his head, captivated by this sliver of information about his grandfather. His mother had told him hardly anything about the man. "He told me that he didn't care and that he would do anything for me nonetheless." Leia paused and Ben looked up to see a thin smile on his mother's lips. "No matter how much I hated him, he never stopped loving me. Your father is very much the same."

"Then why did he abandon me? Why did he abandon us?"

Leia took a deep breath as she retracted her hand from his thigh and clasped it tightly against her other over her lap. "Perhaps you should ask him that yourself," she suggested.

Now that was something Ben dreaded doing.

* * *

His mother had left soon thereafter that night. Ben would have preferred for her to stay – he felt remarkably more at ease with her around – but he had been too proud to ask her not to leave.

Feeling supremely tired, both physically and mentally, Ben decided to call it a night early. He had just taken off his shirt and was about to fall into bed when he heard a soft ringing sound coming from his desk. Sighing wearily, Ben spun around to see that he was receiving a transmission from his holoprojector.

"Oh, you can't be serious," he mumbled irritably. Brushing his hair out of his face with an agitated swipe of his hand, Ben didn't even bother getting dressed as he made his way toward his desk. The natural moonlight coupled with the copious amounts of artificial light which was streaming in from the massive curved window behind him served to illuminate his surroundings adequately enough so that he didn't feel the need to turn on the light. Whomever was calling him at this hour would have to make do with a shirtless and tenebrous hologram.

Taking a seat on the swivel chair by his desk, Ben yawned loudly as he activated the holoprojector. Erupting forth from the desk was the blue-tinged countenance of Ania. She too looked as if she was about to go to bed as she seemed to have removed her makeup and had put up her short black hair into a single messily wrapped bun.

"Do you realize how late it is?" Ben growled, not at all surprised to see Ania's hologram. He suspected she was going to contact him at some point to explain why she had left him on the landing pad that afternoon. He hadn't anticipated her contacting him this soon and at this hour, but he supposed it made sense. Ania seemed to be the least punctilious senator he had ever met; no doubt she didn't care that it would be considered rude for her to contact him so late at night. In fact, he doubted she considered anything she did to be rude. She was remarkably inconsiderate in that way.

"I do, and I'm sorry," Ania prefaced. "But I really wanted to apologize for what happened earlier."

Surprised, Ben raised his eyebrows and leaned back in his seat. Suddenly, it struck him that he ought to be embarrassed that he was exposing his bare chest to her, but he found that he wasn't. For some reason, he felt exceptionally comfortable in her presence and she too must have felt comfortable in his. Why else would she be so willing to speak to him in her pajamas?

"I didn't know apologies were a part of your repertoire," Ben commented snidely as he crossed his arms in front of his broad albeit somewhat flabby chest.

"You're right, they're not," Ania confessed with a snort. "I felt bad, though. I couldn't go to bed without explaining myself."

Ben scowled as he glanced away out the window toward the vibrant city skyline. Despite his prickly demeanor, Ben couldn't deny that he was pleased to have Ania acting so cordially with him. He didn't know why he was so invested with how Ania felt about him – especially considering how rude and downright hostile she had been acting toward him – but nevertheless, he was. He couldn't explain it, but he just felt… bonded with her in a strange way. It was as if they understood each other in a way no one else could even though they had only known each other for less than a week.

"I realized it was wrong of me to force my way into your personal affairs," Ania told him. "I had no right to intrude like that."

"Yeah, you didn't," Ben agreed.

Ania pursed her lips as she considered him silently for a few moments. "Something else is bothering you, isn't it?" she asked suddenly.

Ben narrowed his eyes, instantly on the defensive. "What's it matter to you?" he asked harshly.

"If you don't want to tell me –"

"No, I'm serious," Ben interrupted. "Why are you so interested in me?"

Ania frowned, no doubt vexed by his disregard for their one-sided arrangement of confidentiality. She didn't dismiss the question outright like he had expected her to, however. "Look, I know I haven't been particularly nice to you over the past few days," she began, prompting Ben to snort in agreement. "You have to understand that I'm not used to this… socializing business."

Ben made a skeptical expression. "A senator without social skills?" he asked.

"What can I say, I'm unorthodox," Ania said with a lopsided smile. "I grew up a slave. I was ingrained with an intrinsic distaste for my superiors. For my masters." Ania paused as a distant expression passed her holographic face. "Especially my masters," she mused to herself.

Ben faltered at this remembering what it was Ania had told him the first time they had met in his office. _For the first eighteen years of her life, she was a slave of the Empire _she had told him in reference to his mother. While she had swiftly amended herself immediately thereafter, Ben had no doubt that the use of that word had not been a mistake.

_You really admire her, don't you?_

_She's my idol. _

It suddenly struck him how similar Ania was to his mother in the context of this newfound information about her past. Both had been slaves who had escaped from their former masters. As a consequence, both were caustic and had a difficult time expressing compassion or affection. Based on his interaction with his mother that afternoon and on his conversation with Ania right now, however, that didn't mean that they were incapable of solicitude.

"Anyway, the point is… well, the point is that I haven't treated you all too well and I... I'm sorry for that," Ania concluded haltingly, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment as she stumbled through her apology. "Can you… forgive me?"

Ben blinked a few times in surprise as he internalized this bizarre request. What had inspired such a radical change in Ania's attitude toward him? Was this all some elaborate ploy to con him somehow? He logically knew that he ought to be suspicious, but something was telling him not to be. He somehow knew that Ania was being genuine. He could… sense it.

_Forgiveness is the way of the Skywalkers _he remembered his grandmother telling him back when he was a child. _Your mother of all people knows that to be true, and so should you, Ben. _

"Of course I can," he said therefore. He was struck with a gush of satisfaction and even affection when Ania smiled tentatively at him. He hadn't really appreciated it before, but she truly was a beautiful person. Beneath the snide and malice was an extremely endearing young woman. And she certainly was young. It hadn't really dawned upon him until now just how young she really was. In many ways, she very much resembled that girl Rey he had met that afternoon. Rey, whom Solo had kept hidden from him his whole life. His own sister!

"What's wrong?"

Ben's eyes refocused as he saw Ania looking back at him with a concerned expression. Feeling himself frowning, Ben realized he must have drifted back into a dark place at the thought of that girl. Her very existence incensed him. She represented the ultimate betrayal of Solo.

"I'm just… I had a rough day," he said. "And not just because of you."

"So something else _is _bothering you," Ania said cheekily. "You could have just told me that from the start."

"Well forgive me for being reluctant to confide in you after what you did today," Ben retorted.

"That's fair," Ania conceded. "But you can confide in me now."

"Oh yeah? Why is that?"

"Because I'm your friend."

Ben paused at that. She was his friend? He didn't _have _friends; he never had. That was the life of a celebrity; everybody pretended to be his friend, but they never really were. They always had ulterior motives pertaining to his mother or grandmother. Nobody – except for the droids he created – had ever _really_ wanted to be his friend for the sake of it.

Until now.

Ania was different. Once again, he didn't know why, but he could feel it. Sure, she had been mean to him up to this point, but even so he got the sense that she cared about him.

And he cared about her.

"After you left, my uncle revealed that he had been travelling with… with Han Solo," Ben said, choosing not to refer to that man as his father.

Ania's eyes widened as she inclined her chin and pressed her hands together in front of her mouth. "I take it you weren't aware of this beforehand," she said.

"No shit," Ben snapped. "And it gets worse."

"How so?"

Ben bit down on his tongue as anger surged up within him once more. His mother's warning rang in his head, but he couldn't bear but feel angry. How could he not? "He has… he has a fucking daughter," he rumbled, the virulence in his tone altering his voice considerably. "I have a goddamn sister who I didn't know about for fifteen fucking years."

Ania's eyes widened further still but Ben couldn't spare any thought for her reaction. He was too preoccupied trying to keep himself under control, attempting to regulate his breathing which had elevated rapidly at the thought of Solo's _other _family.

"Solo has another daughter?" Ania asked incredulously.

"I guess," Ben murmured with a surly frown.

"Is she… biologically related to him?" Ania asked tentatively.

Ben hesitated for a moment as he considered this. "I don't know," he confessed. "I didn't ask."

"Are you going to find out?"

"I guess I have to," Ben said with a heavy sigh. "My mother says I can't avoid him forever."

"No, I suppose you can't."

A long silence ensued as Ben stared blankly at the base of the holoprojector, his prior exhaustion ebbing away in the face of his renewed dread at the prospect of facing Solo once again. He couldn't possibly do it. He wasn't strong enough.

"Could… could you come with me?" he suddenly asked, the words emerging from his mouth before he even really considered them.

"Come with you?" Ania repeated dubiously.

"To talk to him," Ben said, a hint of desperation seeping into his voice. "I don't think I can do it alone."

Ania contemplated him for a few seconds with a pained expression. "Ben, I… I can't," she said. "You know I can't. This is something you have to do on your own."

Ben sagged his shoulders but nodded nonetheless. He knew Ania was right. This was something he had to do on his own. Whether or not he had the strength to do it remained to be seen, however.

"You're right," he said heavily. Silence reigned for a few moments longer before Ben sat fully upright in his seat. "I should go to bed," he said. "It's late."

"Good luck with your father," Ania told him. "I mean that."

"Thank you, Ania," Ben said, a smile creeping in at the corners of his lips in spite of his general despondency. He hadn't known how much he needed this until now. How much he needed her in his life.

"Goodnight, Ben," Ania said as she reached to deactivate her holoprojector.

"Goodnight, Ania," Ben responded as he copied the gesture. With the press of a button, he severed the communication and bid farewell to Ania.

To his friend.


	5. Rey

Chapter 5 – Rey

In spite of his exhaustion, Ben had a difficult time falling asleep that night after saying goodbye to Ania. Staring at the ceiling above him for hours on end, Ben was unable to purge his mind of the thoughts which swirled around him tempestuously. Chief amongst these were thoughts of Han Solo, whom he genuinely hadn't expected to ever see again. He had always just assumed that Solo had abandoned him and his mother for good. That had saddened him immeasurably back when he was a child, but he had come to take solace in it the older he got. He hadn't ever wanted to see his biological father ever again, if he was being frank.

His dreaded thoughts of Solo were intermingled with those of Luke, Leia, Rey, and of course, Ania. Unable to bear it any longer, Ben had given up trying to get any sleep early that morning before the sun had even risen. Feeling more tired than he had last night, Ben plodded through his apartment toward the kitchen to get something to eat.

He ran through the motions of his morning routine without even really thinking about what he was doing. Only when he realized he was trying to shave his face with the bristles of his toothbrush rather than with his razor did he snap back into reality. Shaking his head, Ben laughed at himself as he set the toothbrush down and proceeded to splash water on his face. Looking back up at his reflection in the mirror, Ben cringed when he saw the heavy black bags under his eyes and the pallid color of his skin.

Ben tore his eyes away from his reflection when he was startled by the sound of the doorbell ringing. Hastily drying his face with a towel, Ben left the refresher and made his way toward the front door. Taking a turn down the white-tiled hallway, Ben checked who was at the door with a glance at the surveillance panel before permitting them entry with a press of a button.

"Grandma, what are you doing here?" he asked when the door slid aside to reveal the diminutive figure of Padmé Amidala.

"I heard what happened last night," she told him as she stepped into his apartment without asking for permission. Ben stepped aside and closed the door behind her.

"How did you even get here?" Ben asked, knowing that she hadn't driven a speeder in years. The air lanes were simply too dangerous for an elderly woman like her to traverse.

"Your uncle drove me," Padmé said as she made her way down the hallway toward the living room. "He stayed with the speeder outside. I told him he was being ridiculous, but Luke seems to think that you're angry with him."

"Well, erm… yeah, I am," Ben confessed as Padmé shuffled forward and took a seat on his blue-cushioned couch, setting her handbag down on the ground by her feet as she did so. "Do you know what he did?" Ben asked her.

"Found your father?" Padmé provided.

"And brought him here without telling anyone!" Ben exclaimed as he began pacing in front of her. "He had no right to do that!"

Padmé watched him stew for a few moments with narrowed eyes. Disquieted, Ben faltered and ceased pacing. "Ben, I'm going to say this once, so you'd better listen," she said with uncharacteristic sternness. Ben gulped nervously before nodding obediently and taking a seat across from her on an armchair. "I don't know what happened between Han and your mother. No one does. What I _do _know, however, is that both you and your mother are being terribly unfair to him."

Aggrieved by this unfair accusation, Ben was unable to stop himself from leaping back to his feet. "He's the one who abandoned us!" Ben roared as he pointed a finger at his grandmother. "He's the one to blame!"

Unfazed by his outburst, Padmé shook her head lugubriously. "I know Han far better than you do, Ben," she said. "While he was by no means a perfect man, he was a loyal one. He was dedicated to your mother like few others could." Ben scoffed and dismissed this assessment with an agitated wave of his hand. "You of all people know how difficult your mother can be at times," Padmé continued. "It took a remarkable man to love her as completely as Han did."

Too indignant to speak, Ben merely shook his head vigorously and sat back down in his chair. Jaw clenched, Ben looked away from Padmé out the window where the first rays of sunlight were beginning to emerge along the horizon, casting long shadows upon his living room.

"Look, Ben. There are a lot of things you don't know about your mother's past," Padmé said suddenly. Ben looked up sharply, eyes widened as he stared back at his grandmother. Little did she know, he already knew all about his mother's past, but was she about to reveal her daughter's secrets to him after over twenty years of silence?

"What kind of things?" Ben asked.

Padmé paused, a clear look of conflict etched across her face. "She… she had a very difficult childhood, as you might have guessed," she said slowly.

"Difficult how?" Ben prodded.

Once again, Padmé didn't answer him right away as she looked down and away from him toward her lap. "I don't have the right to say," she said finally. "What I'm trying to say is that I think it's entirely plausible that it was Leia's fault that her marriage fell apart, not Han's."

"How can you say that!?" Ben exclaimed, utterly aghast that Padmé would posit such a preposterous theory.

"Just keep an open mind, would you?" Padmé exhorted him. "All Luke and I want is for you to not hate your father. Han doesn't deserve to be the subject of your vitriol, Ben."

While Ben vehemently disagreed with this sentiment, he didn't vocalize it for Padmé's sake. Unsure what to say, Ben clasped his hands together and leaned forward, his hair shrouding his face as he sagged his head in between his knees.

"Luke and I are on our way to Leia's to meet with Han this morning," Padmé said after a long, tense silence. "I'd appreciate it if you chose to come with us willingly."

Ben looked up with a sour expression. "I don't have much of a choice, do I?" he asked.

"No, I suppose you don't," Padmé concurred. "Your mother gave Luke express orders to bring you by force if he needed to."

Ben snorted in indignation and got to his feet, running his hands agitatedly through his hair as he did so. "Fine," he said bitterly. "I'll be ready in ten."

* * *

Ben didn't say a word as he sulked in the back seat of Luke's rental speeder on the way to his mother's apartment. Fortunately, he and his mother lived quite close to one another in the city, so it didn't take long before Luke was parking the speeder along the side of the high-rise apartment complex.

Lagging behind his uncle and grandmother, Ben stuffed his hands into his pockets as he plodded toward the elevator. Several awkward moments later, they were arriving on the top floor of the complex where his mother's apartment was. Considering her wealth and fame, the apartment was quite humble. It was quite a bit larger and grander than his own, however, so it made sense for them to congregate here.

With a wave of his hand, Luke opened the front door and walked inside. Padmé and Ben followed behind him, an oppressive silence still reigning as they made their way toward the main living area.

"Luke, I'm so glad you made it!"

Side stepping his uncle, Ben saw his mother's face alight with delight as she rushed over to give her brother a hug. Ben watched their interaction curiously. He never saw his mother act in this way with anyone other than Luke. The bond they had was truly remarkable, one which Ben had always envied. He had never had a sibling or a friend whom he could rely upon regardless of circumstance. Well perhaps now he did have a sibling, after all considering the fact that Solo had a daughter...

"Ben, how are you feeling?"

Purging the thoughts of Rey out of his mind, Ben looked up to see his mother staring back at him expectantly.

"You know how I'm feeling," Ben said after a few moments of deliberating how best to respond. Leia nodded, understanding the truth of his words; she could always know how he was feeling. In addition to her prodigious Jedi skills, she also had the finely tuned intuition of a mother. There was nothing he could feel without her detecting it.

"Ben, I'm… I'm proud of you for coming," she said haltingly. Glancing at Luke, Leia continued in spite of her obvious discomfort. "I know you don't want to speak to your father, and if I'm being frank, I don't want to either. But we're going to get through this together, you and me."

It seemed the impossible had happened: he and his mother were on the same page. Perhaps Luke had succeeded after all. They now had a sense of solidarity against Solo and as a consequence Ben had never felt more comfortable with his mother. She too seemed to be acting more maternal and considerate toward him, even going so far as saying that she was proud of him.

_She _was proud of _him_! A warm, fuzzy feeling blossomed in his chest at this revelation. When had his mother ever told him that she was proud of him? This truly was unprecedented.

"Thanks, Mom," Ben said in a small voice. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Padmé and Luke share a smile. Perhaps this had been their plan all along: to bring Solo back as the sacrificial lamb so that he and his mother could come to terms. If that was the case, they had done a brilliant job.

But he couldn't attribute everything to them, however. Ania had had a large role in this development as well. With her assistance, Ben was beginning to understand his mother in a way he never could have before. While the disturbing facets of her past continued to perturb him, he was no longer horrified of her like he had been initially. She had been a Sith Lord, yes, but from what he understood, it hadn't been her choice. In that context, it was all the more impressive to see what she had become.

Perhaps Ania had been right when she had told him that he didn't truly appreciate his mother. While he had bristled in indignation at the accusation at the time, he now understood why she said it. In many ways, Ania could appreciate Leia far more so than he could. She had been a slave on Tatooine just like Leia had been under Sidious, and as a result she could admire Leia's ability to overcome the obstacles in a way which Ben simply could not.

Ben was rudely startled back to reality when he heard the doorbell ring, the portentous sound reverberating like a klaxon in the deathly silent apartment. Nobody moved as they all stared at each other, the tension mounting as the profundity of the situation began to truly sink in. This was really happening. For the first time in nearly twenty years, their family was about to be reunited.

"I'll go get the door," Luke finally said in a strained voice. He paused for a moment longer before turning away to receive Solo and his… entourage.

Ben felt a hand slip into his own, and he was startled to see that his mother was standing by his side. Looking up at him with a resolute expression, Leia gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. Ben swallowed hard and nodded, silently telling her that he was ready even though he was anything but.

The front door opened with a hiss and Ben inhaled sharply. Grasping his mother's hand firmly, Ben waited with agonizing anticipation as he heard several sets of footsteps approaching…

Luke emerged from the hallway first. Stepping aside quickly so that he could stand next to his own mother, Ben was surprised to see a massive, hairy creature lumbering toward them.

"Chewbacca!" his grandmother exclaimed upon seeing the Wookiee. Chewbacca glanced at him and Leia suspiciously before leaning down to greet Padmé who was smiling up at him with unparalleled radiance. As the two embraced, Ben looked away to see him standing stiffly in the Wookiee's long shadow.

Solo.

Chewbacca mumbled something in Wookiee as he stepped aside to allow Han access into the room. As he did so, the girl Rey was revealed as well, standing by Solo's side. Ben's face twitched when he saw Solo's hand rested atop Rey's shoulder in a distinctly paternal fashion.

"Hello, Ben," Han said in a high voice. Turning his attention to Leia, he opened his mouth but no words came for a few moments. "Leia," he finally managed to say, his voice catching in his throat.

"Han," his mother said frigidly.

For several agonizing moments the estranged couple stared at each other without saying a word, Han's expression pained and uncomfortable whereas Leia's was steely and unwavering. Finally, Solo broke the unbearable silence.

"You changed your hair," he said.

"Same jacket," Leia retorted without hesitation.

Solo blinked a few times as he looked down at his weathered brown jacket. After a few more tense moments of silence, Solo turned his attention to the girl at his side. "This is, erm…" He paused to clear his throat. "This is my daughter, Rey," he said, giving the girl's shoulder a squeeze.

"Hello," Rey greeted in a mousy voice, her eyes darting down to her feet when Leia looked at her. In spite of the tension of the situation, Ben couldn't help but smirk at this. He knew exactly how terrified Rey must be feeling under his mother's glare, having been subject to it countless times before.

"How about we all take a seat," Luke suggested, his interjection providing a much-needed reprieve to the downright noxious environment.

Without a word, everyone complied with Luke's suggestion and made their way toward the couch and chairs. The room was oriented in such a way that Solo, Chewbacca, and Rey could all sit on one couch facing the four Skywalkers who took their seats on individual armchairs across from them. Luke alone remained seated as he oriented himself in between the two groups off to the side, his back facing the hallway so that nobody could leave without going through him first.

"So," Padmé said once everyone was seated. Ben leaned forward a bit to look at his grandmother while she spoke, having taken a seat across the room from him on Leia's left flank. "What have you been up to, Han? Not still smuggling spice, are you?"

"No, of course not," Solo said all too quickly. Glancing at Chewbacca, Solo gulped audibly before turning back to face his former mother-in-law. "I, uh… I've been looking."

Ben quirked an eyebrow at this comment. "Looking?" Padmé asked, sounding as bemused as he felt. "For what?"

Han's eyes darted to Leia. "You didn't tell them, did you?" he asked.

"There's nothing to tell," she answered curtly.

"You're still in denial, then?"

"You're the one in denial, Han. Not me."

Solo grit his teeth and looked away. Utterly perplexed by this exchange, Ben was about to open his mouth to ask what was going on when Rey spoke.

"Are you really both Jedi?" she asked Leia with a side glance at Luke as well.

Luke and Leia both looked at each other before responding. "We are," Luke affirmed rather woodenly. "Do you, um… know much about the Jedi?" he asked.

"Not much," Rey said. "Dad told me a bit about them."

Ben winced and bit down hard on his tongue at this. Luke seemed similarly uncomfortable, although he managed to hide it far better than Ben had. "What sort of things has he told you?" Luke asked while looking directly at Han.

"That they're very powerful," Rey said seriously. "And they have laser swords," she added, her eyes shining as she glanced down at Luke's belt. "Is that yours?" she asked with a gesture towards Luke's lightsaber.

"Um… yes, yes it is," Luke said.

"That's all you told her, Han?" Leia asked ominously. "Nothing else?"

Solo withered under Leia's glower, sinking back against the plush pillow backing of the couch. "That's all," he said. "I swear."

His mother's intense glare did not abate as she slowly looked between Rey and Han. "After all this time, I would have thought you'd know better than to lie to me," she said bitingly.

Solo's eyebrows shot upward in indignation. "I'm not lying!" he insisted.

"Then what is it that she is trying to hide?" Leia asked with a gesture of her head toward Rey. Knees pressed together and arms folded in front of her chest, Rey looked as if she was trying to make herself as small as possible so as to render herself invisible. Unfortunately for her, however, there was nothing she could do to prevent six sets of eyes from staring directly at her.

"Rey, what else do you know?" Luke asked gently yet firmly. By this point, Ben had absolutely no idea what was going on. How had their tense family reunion been transformed into an interrogation of Solo's daughter? Why were Luke and Leia so fascinated by this girl?

"I… I overheard Dad talking about it with Qi'ra," she mumbled, her voice so tiny that Ben had to strain his ears to hear her.

Leia shot Han a vicious look before leaning in toward Rey. "What did you hear?" she asked lowly.

"I didn't really understand it," Rey said. "He said something about… about how all Jedi are Force… Force…"

"Force-sensitive?" Luke provided.

Rey bobbed her head at this. "And he also said that he thinks I'm… that I'm Force-sensitive too."

Ben felt as if the temperature in the room plummeted several degrees as Luke and Leia collectively stared at Han with incredulous expressions. Ben meanwhile was still trying to figure out what was going on. So Rey was Force-sensitive just like him? And just like him, she clearly hadn't been trained how to use it properly considering the fact that she was hardly even familiar with the concept of the Force.

"Ben, would you mind taking Rey outside to the patio?" Leia requested of him suddenly. Aggrieved, Ben turned to her and opened his mouth to object, but Leia cut him off. "Please?" she said sternly. Ben had heard that 'please' before. It didn't mean 'please,' it meant 'do it now, or else.'

This was so unfair! He had every right to be here! Even so, he wasn't bold (nor stupid) enough to fight his mother on this. "Fine," he said therefore, reluctantly standing up and walking away toward the kitchen.

"You too, Rey," he heard Solo say.

"But Dad –"

"Just do it, okay? We won't take long."

Ben paused in the hallway leading to the kitchen to turn around to see if Rey was following him. Seeing that she was, he turned back and resumed trudging toward the patio.

"Hey! Hey, wait up!"

Ben sighed exasperatedly and swiveled his head to see Rey running toward him with that perpetually ebullient energy. Waiting for her to catch up with him, Ben frowned before resuming his trek.

"You look a lot like your Dad," Rey commented blithely as they passed through the kitchen. "You have the same nose."

Ben thought of a snide comment, but he bit it back as he pressed the button which opened the door to the patio. There was no point in taking out his frustrations with Solo on this girl. She was innocent in all this.

"Oh wow!"

Stepping outside onto the patio, Rey's eyes widened and her mouth fell open when she took in the panoramic view of the city above and below. The sun had come up fully now and the early morning traffic had reached its absolute peak. Speeders of all shapes, sizes, and colors zoomed by in organized chaos as millions upon millions of commuters made their way to work.

"This is amazing!" Rey exclaimed, doing a little twirl before turning to him with bright eyes. "You get to live here?"

"Erm… yeah," he said. He hated himself for admitting it, but he couldn't deny that he found this girl to be incredibly endearing. He despised her for what she represented, but if he pushed that aside for the moment, all he could see was an adorable little girl who found wonder in everything she saw. Force, why did Solo's daughter have to be so cute?

"So, uh… how old are you, Rey?" Ben asked upon taking a seat while Rey continued to cavort about the patio.

"Eleven or twelve, I think," she said, her neck craned as she gaped at the massive skyscrapers above them. "We're not really sure, though."

"Not sure? How come?" Ben asked, his discomfort with interacting with Rey beginning to fade in the face of his burning curiosity and budding affection.

"I don't know when my life day is," she confessed with a frown. "We celebrate it on the versary instead."

"Versary?" Ben asked. Rey nodded, her three buns bobbing in affirmation along with her. "Do you mean anniversary?"

"Anniversary," Rey repeated, enunciating the word carefully. "I get that one wrong a lot. My dad always corrects me, but I forget it anyway."

Ben managed to keep himself from flinching this time, although he did have to clench his jaw and look away for a moment. "What anniversary do you celebrate?" he managed to ask through gritted teeth.

"When he found me," Rey said before spinning around on her heel and traipsing back along the perimeter of the patio.

Perplexed by this comment, Ben quirked an eyebrow and leaned forward a bit in his chair. "When who found you?" he asked.

"Dad," Rey explained patiently. "He found me on Jakku three years ago."

Ben blinked a few times as he processed this statement. "He found you?" he repeated. "What do you mean by that?"

"What do you mean what do I mean?" Rey asked with a silly grin.

Ben scratched his temple and looked away. "So do you mean he's… not your biological father?" he asked slowly.

"Bio-logical?" Rey repeated, clearly unfamiliar with the term.

"He adopted you?"

"Yep," Rey confirmed casually.

A wave of relief washed over him at this revelation. So Rey wasn't his sister after all!

"What about that woman you were with earlier. Is she not your mother either?"

"Who? Qi'ra?"

"Yeah, Qi'ra."

"Oh, she's not my mother," Rey said. "She's just Dad's girlfriend." She paused and wrinkled her nose momentarily. "She doesn't really like me."

"What do you mean?" Ben asked, surprised to find that he was angry by this disclosure. How could Solo's girlfriend not like Rey? How could anyone not like her?

Rey shrugged before abruptly sitting down cross-legged on the ground. Holding her face in her hands, she looked up at him with wide brown eyes. "I think she wants him all for herself," she told him. "I don't think she likes kids very much."

"That's not very nice of her," Ben said. Rey nodded her head in agreement, a melancholy expression passing her face. Feeling uncomfortable with having upset her, Ben made to change the conversation. "What were you doing on Jakku before… before my father found you?" he asked, a bitter taste in his mouth when he referred to Solo in that manner.

"I was a scavenger," Rey told him. "I'd find valuable parts from the ship wrecks on Jakku and sell them to Mr. Plutt."

"Wait, you lived on Jakku?" Ben asked, prompting Rey to nod once again. "As in the Battle of Jakku?"

"Yep," Rey said. "There are a lot of ships that crash landed there which I could pick through."

"That's my mother's most famous battle," Ben said excitedly. "That's where the Empire fell for good."

"I know," Rey said impassively. "Your mom's Leia Skywalker. She's a legend." Unsure of what to say to this, Ben merely leaned back in his seat and rested his leg atop his thigh. "She's kind of scary."

Ben laughed out loud at this. "Yeah, she can be," he agreed.

Just then, the door to the patio opened abruptly without warning. Startled, Ben leapt to his feet to see Solo emerging from the doorway. When their eyes met, both men froze as the awkward tension returned with a vengeance.

"Dad look!" Rey exclaimed, jumping to her feet and skipping over toward her paralyzed father. "The city's so pretty!"

Tearing his eyes away from Ben, Solo looked down at his adopted daughter. "Rey, we're going," he said gruffly.

"Going?" Rey repeated, the disappointment evident in her voice.

"Wait just a minute," Ben said, taking a step toward Solo. "You can't just go!"

"Why not? Would you like me to stay?" Solo asked facetiously.

"Not at all," Ben bristled. "But you still need to explain yourself."

Solo contemplated his face with a longing expression for a moment before bowing his head. "I'd like to, but your mother wouldn't condone it," he said morosely.

"She wouldn't condone it?" Ben repeated. "What are you talking about?"

"You should ask her that," Solo said glumly. "Come on Rey," he added, turning away from him.

"But I want to stay with Ben," Rey pouted. "I only just got to meet him."

Solo faltered at this, his pained expression softening slightly as he looked between Rey and Ben – his two children.

"How long will you be here on Chandrila?" Ben asked. "Maybe Rey could come visit me in the Senate some time tomorrow."

Solo gave him an odd look, clearly surprised that he would make this suggestion. If Ben was being honest with himself, he was surprised that he had made it as well. For some reason, he genuinely wanted to spend more time with this girl. He felt an incipient bond forming between them. In some ways, it mirrored the one he shared with Ania…

"If you're willing," Solo said slowly. "That would… that would be great."

"Chewie could take me!" Rey said excitedly as she clasped her hands together in front of her chest. "It'll be fun!"

"Definitely," Ben agreed, the corner of his lip curling involuntarily into a smile. This was not how Ben had expected this day to go, to put it lightly.

It seemed Ben had gained himself a little sister.


	6. You're Wrong

Chapter 6 – You're Wrong

The next morning, Ben had a deep scowl imprinted on his face as he was seated at the desk in his senatorial office. As the morning sunlight streamed in through the curved windows behind him, Ben's eyes scanned across the rather depressing report on his holopad. It seemed the terrorists Zorq was so adamant about destroying were more serious than he had given them credit for. The insurgency group – a so-called 'First Order' – had been wreaking havoc in the Outer and Mid Rims. Their latest strike had taken place on Takodana where several dozen people had been killed in an enormous explosion.

Chewing on his lower lip, Ben had just swiped to the next page when a buzzing sound indicated that he was receiving a transmission. Glad to set the dreary briefing aside, Ben pressed his index finger on the button to activate the comlink.

"Yes?" he said into the device.

"_Senator Skywalker, there's a visitor downstairs for you at the reception desk,_" the voice said.

"Thank you, I'll be right there," Ben said, standing up quickly as he deactivated the comlink. Wrapping his black cape around his shoulders – a sartorial decision which may or may not have been inspired by Ania – Ben strode over toward the exit of his office.

"I'll be right back, A5," Ben told his droid before stepping out into the hallway. Cape swishing against the floor behind him, Ben found himself grinning as he made his way to the elevator. This whole situation was still so surreal to him, yet for some reason it also felt entirely natural. It was as if he had always known that he wanted a sister, but hadn't realized it until now.

The doors to the elevator slid open and Ben was surprised to see a familiar face looking back at him.

"Ania?"

"Morning, Ben," Ania greeted, her eyes darting down as she inspected his outfit. "Nice cape," she added with a smirk.

"Thanks," Ben said as he entered the lift. "Where are you off to?" he asked when the door closed behind him and the elevator resumed its descent toward the surface level.

"I just needed to stretch my legs," Ania told him with a heavy sigh. "I was getting so depressed reading that CIH report. Did you see it?"

Ben nodded grimly. "I did," he said. It suddenly struck him that Ania was technically a political rival of his. She was a hawk like Zorq, or at least her orientation in the CIH session last week had indicated such. Regardless, he was sure they could agree on one thing pertaining to this report: the First Order had to be held accountable.

"What about you, where are you heading?" Ania asked, stirring him out of his thoughts.

Ben faltered. "I, erm… I'm going to go meet my, uh…"

"Your what?" Ania asked when Ben trailed off.

Had he really been about to call Rey his sister? What had gotten into him? He'd known this girl for perhaps fifteen minutes tops and just like that he was willing to call her family. Just because Solo was her father didn't mean she automatically got to be his sister!

But he wanted her to be. He wanted Rey to be his sister. Why?

"I'm looking after Solo's daughter for the day," he said stiffly as the elevator came to a stop.

"You're what?" Ania asked, incredulous.

"You heard me," Ben grumbled as he walked off the elevator into the busy lobby of the Senate building.

"But why?" Ania asked as she rushed after him. "I thought you hated Solo?"

"I do," Ben told her without slowing his long strides. Pushing past a trio of especially slow-moving senators and one overly-zealous janitorial droid, Ben came to a stop at the reception desk where he saw the distinctive of form of Chewbacca the Wookiee looming nearby.

"Ben!"

Looking down from Chewbacca, Ben saw Rey rushing toward him. Wiping the smile from his face briskly, Ben turned around to see Ania had caught up with him.

"That her?" she mumbled to him.

Ben rolled his eyes and didn't even bother answer the unnecessary question. Pumping the breaks in front of them, Rey looked up and gave him a radiant smile. Turning to Ania, her smile didn't abate in the slightest despite not knowing who she was. "Hello," she greeted warmly. "Who are you?"

Ania glanced at Ben, clearly taken aback by Rey's effervescence. "Um… I'm Ania," she said awkwardly.

"Just Ania?" Rey asked with a tilt of her head.

"Just Ania," she affirmed.

"I used to not have a family name either," Rey told her seriously. "Do you not have a family?"

Sensing Ania's discomfort, Ben decided to interject on her behalf. "How was your ride this morning?" he asked in a studious effort to divert the conversation.

"Oh, it was amazing!" Rey squealed. Just then, Chewbacca made his way back to Rey and came to a stop behind the chipper girl. Looking up at her Wookiee companion, Rey flashed him a smile. "Chewie's a great driver, you know. He handled the traffic like it was nothing."

The Wookiee rumbled something in response which neither Ben nor Ania could understand. "I'll be fine," Rey dismissed as she looked away from Chewbacca. "He said he wants me to be safe today," she translated to him. "He's such a worrywart."

"She'll be fine with me," Ben told the Wookiee curtly. He didn't appreciate Chewbacca's lack of faith in him. He was a senator! Of course Rey would be safe with him.

Chewbacca looked far from convinced, but he seemed to realize that he didn't have much say in the matter. With one last roar toward Rey, Chewbacca gave the girl an affectionate pat on the head before walking away, sparing one last suspicious look toward Ben as he retreated.

"Come on, Rey. Let's go upstairs," Ben said, his eyes on the back of the Wookie's head as he lumbered away toward the exit. "Ania, would you care to join us?" he added as he turned to his companion.

Ania blinked a few times before slowly looking away from Rey toward him. It seemed she had been rattled by Rey. Perhaps that innocent question about her family had struck a nerve with the ever-secretive Ania. "I… I'd be delighted," she said haltingly.

Ben smiled appreciatively before extending his hand to Rey. "Shall we?" he said.

* * *

"So what's the deal, Skywalker? Got a soft spot for this girl, do you?"

Ania was seated on the surface of his desk with her legs draped casually atop a cabinet behind him. Ben was seated in his typical seat, his eyes never far from Rey who seemed to be quite fascinated with A5.

"But what do you actually _do_?" he heard Rey ask the droid.

"I am a protocol droid," A5 repeated for the umpteenth time. "I assist."

"Yeah, but like… what do you do?"

Smirking, Ben looked away from the pair to meet Ania's inquisitive gaze. "What do you care?" he asked her. "It's not affecting you either way."

Ania shrugged and glanced down at her fingernails with a disinterested expression. "It just seems a bit odd, that's all," she said. "Why are you so willing to accept this girl as your sister when you despise her father so vehemently?"

"She's not my sister, okay?" Ben hissed. "I'm just looking after her for the day." Ania arched an eyebrow skeptically at this comment yet didn't pursue it any further. "We're not even related, you know. Solo adopted her."

Ania seemed to be intrigued by this sliver of information. "He adopted her? Why?"

"No idea," Ben said. "Maybe he just felt bad for her. She was all alone on Jakku when he found her."

"Jakku? What was she doing there?" Ania asked, sounding tense all of a sudden.

"Not sure," Ben confessed. "She said she was working as a scavenger. Sounds pretty much like slavery to me, don't you think?"

"Yeah," Ania agreed distantly. "Something like that."

A moment passed between them. Ben was watching Rey but not really seeing her, his mind drifting as he thought back to the previous morning. "Ania, I wanted to thank you," Ben said suddenly, his conscience prompting him to speak before his brain did. "I… I realized you were right."

"Of course I was, but what exactly was I right about?" Ania asked smartly.

Ben snorted and shook his head at her wit. "I think I've come to terms with my mother's past," he said. "This whole ordeal with my father has shown me just how lucky I am to have her in my life."

"You are lucky," Ania agreed in a dark voice. "Luckier than you know."

Ben gave her a probing look. "What happened to your parents, Ania?" he asked softly. "Did they leave you?"

Ania met his solicitous gaze with pursed lips and a clenched jaw. "You could say that," she said. Ben's brow twitched. He wanted to know more, but he wasn't brash enough to ask her to clarify. Ben was wise enough to know that Ania wasn't going to tell him no matter how earnest he was. "Your mother is a remarkable woman, Ben," Ania said as she leapt off the desk and got to her feet. "She deserved better than Solo, and so did you." She paused as she glanced over at Rey who was still frolicking with the taciturn A5. "It's a shame that he chose to be a father for her rather than for his own son."

Ben took a deep breath as the rage which he had stowed deep within him began to bubble up once more at this comment. "You're right," he said in a thick voice. "It's a shame."

Ania reached out and patted him gently on the shoulder. "You're a better person than I am, Ben," she said as she spared one last furtive glance toward Rey. "If I were in your position, I wouldn't be able to be so genial with her."

Ben nodded, understanding the sentiment yet not agreeing with the conclusion. "You are a good person, Ania," he insisted forcefully. "You just don't know it yet."

Ania contemplated his face for a moment before smiling weakly. "Thank you, Ben," she said. With that, she suddenly leaned down and planted a kiss on his cheek. "But you're wrong," she whispered in his ear before pulling away.

Utterly stunned, Ben felt frozen in place as he watched Ania walk away from around the desk and make her way toward the exit. Looking up from A5, Rey seemed deeply disappointed to see that Ania was leaving.

"You're leaving?" she asked.

Ania stopped just before the hallway leading to the exit and turned her head toward Rey. Giving the girl a strained expression which looked halfway between a smile and a grimace, Ania hesitated before explaining herself.

"I have work to do," she said. "It was nice meeting you, Rey."

"It was nice meeting you too, Ania," Rey said cheerily.

Ania nodded once before departing with haste. With a hand rested over his cheek where she had kissed him, Ben blinked a few times as he watched her go. Something about her departure didn't sit right with him, and it didn't have to do with the unexpected kiss. Rey's arrival had clearly troubled Ania. Why that might be, however, Ben had no idea.

* * *

Ben tried in vain to get some work done that morning, but he found that it was utterly impossible with Rey around. Unlike A5, she didn't seem to have an off switch. She prattled on and on, asking question after question until Ben felt like tearing his hair out.

Upon trying to reread the same sentence for the dozenth time to no avail, Ben finally gave up and set his datapad down. "Come on," he said as he stood up and picked up his cape from the back of his chair. "Let's go for a walk."

"Okay!" Rey chirped.

Taking the irrepressible girl by the hand, Ben led her toward the exit. They perused the hallway for a few minutes as they passed by the various senatorial offices. At each name plaque, Rey would point and ask him who they were.

"That's Senator Chamylle from Chandrila," Ben told her, squinting a bit as he struggled to read the plaque. "She's very well respected. An unrelenting pacifist, though. Not the most practical, in my opinion."

"What about that one?" Rey asked, gesturing toward the door on the opposite end of the hall. Ben swiveled his head and snorted when he read the name.

"That's Zorq's office," Ben said with a chortle. "You want to stay away from that one. He's a real –"

"I wouldn't finish that sentence if I were you, Senator."

Ben froze as his eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. Tightened his grip on Rey's hand, he turned around slowly to see Zorq standing behind him, an infuriatingly smug smirk stretched across his meaty face.

"Senator Zorq, I didn't see you there," Ben said with a strained smile.

"Clearly," Zorq snorted sardonically. Looking down toward Rey, Zorq's black lips curled into an unsettling smile. Ben wasn't sure he had ever seen Zorq smile before, and he would be perfectly content with never seeing it again. "Who is this?" he asked in a saccharine tone.

Ben opened his mouth, but no words came out. What was he supposed to say? He couldn't possibly tell Zorq the truth…

"I'm Rey," Rey said, oblivious to Ben's dilemma. "I'm Ben's sister."

Ben inhaled sharply and his whole body stiffened in fear. Surprised, Zorq tilted his head and gave Ben a quizzical look. "Skywalker, I didn't know you had a sister," he said.

"I don't!" Ben insisted loudly. "Rey's just being silly," he said, swinging their intertwined hands a bit for emphasis. "She tells everyone that."

Zorq furrowed his brow in bemusement. "So she's your…?"

"Cousin," Ben said quickly before Rey could interject. "Second. Third, actually! We're barely even related, in fact."

"But Ben –"

"Don't listen to anything she says," Ben interrupted with a nervous chuckle. "If you'll excuse me, I'm running late for a, um… for a meeting. A very important meeting! Have a good day, Senator Zorq." With that, Ben spun around and practically ran away, dragging a deeply confused Rey along with him. Ben only slowed down when they turned a corner and out of sight of Zorq.

"Ben –"

"I'm sorry about that Rey," Ben said, releasing her hand and kneeling down so that they could be at eye level. "I can't have you going around telling people you're my sister, though."

"But why not?" Rey asked, sounding betrayed. "I am, aren't I?"

Ben faltered, Rey's expression casting a pall of guilt over him. How could he have done that to her? It was so clear that she looked up to him. She no doubt desperately wanted to have him to as her brother. Who was he to deny her of that?

"Of course you are," he said therefore, a tentative smile emerging at the corners of his mouth. "It's complicated though. If the press found out about you…"

"What?" Rey asked when he trailed off.

"It would be unpleasant to say the least," Ben said, reaching out and placing a hand on her shoulder. "Look, I don't want to hide you forever, but we just have to be careful in how we handle this. I don't want people to start making accusations about my mother or about… about our father."

"What would they accuse them of?" Rey asked, clearly perplexed by his logic.

"People are petty, Rey," Ben said plaintively. "They'll say the nastiest things if given the chance."

Rey frowned and scrunched her nose in an obvious expression of displeasure. Ben felt bad about dismissing her like he had, but he knew that it was in both of their best interests for her to maintain her anonymity at least in the short term. He knew from experience that the tabloids could be brutal.

"Come on," Ben suggested after a long moment. "Let's get something to eat downstairs."

"Okay," Rey mumbled, only reluctantly accepting his hand when he extended it to her.

It seemed this slight wouldn't be forgiven as readily as he had hoped.

* * *

Leia was seated cross-legged on the floor in her meditation room, her figure half in shadow as streaks of sunlight cascaded through the partially-shaded windows. Eyes closed, Leia was recounting the terrible argument she and Luke had had with Han the morning prior.

"_She's too dangerous, Han,_" Luke had said. "_You have to let us take her._"

"_She's my daughter, damnit! You're not taking her away from me!_"

"_You're being a fool, Solo_," she had said bitingly.

"_You're the one who's the fool, Vitrius._"

Vitrius.

Leia had snapped, leaping out of her seat and hurling profanities at her despicable husband. It had taken the combined efforts of both Luke and Chewbacca to restrain her, but nobody could quell the fury which Han had inspired within her. Nobody had called her that in decades, the name becoming a forbidden word over the years. Only Han would have been bold enough to use it in front of her…

She hadn't hated him like her son did until that very moment. Over the past twenty years, she had justified his behavior as being the consequence of a broken, despondent man who was too stubborn to face the demons of their collective past. Now she saw him for what he was, however: a fool and a weakling.

Why else would he be so insistent upon keeping that girl? At the expense of his wife and his son, Han Solo had chosen to go off searching the galaxy for something that didn't exist. He had evidently fooled himself into believing that Rey could provide him with what he thought he had lost.

But he was wrong. That girl wasn't the cure he was looking for, but instead a threat to everything he held dear. If he wouldn't permit her and Luke to take control over her, they would have to take her by force. It was too dangerous for her to remain in Han's calloused hands. She couldn't allow everything she had fought and suffered for to be rendered all for naught. She couldn't allow her father's death to be in vain.

The Force had been brought into balance thirty years ago when she had killed Darth Sidious and been redeemed by her father. Rey threatened to throw the balance which the Chosen One had fought so hard to create into chaos. Leia wouldn't allow this to happen. She couldn't.

A knock on the door to the meditation room caused Leia to open her eyes languidly. Sensing her mother on the other side, Leia opened the door with a casual probe of the Force. When the door opened fully, Padmé stepped into the room and came to a stop in the midst of a light beam, her face illuminated warmly and her gray hair framed in a rich golden light.

"You have a visitor, Leia," she told her.

"What's wrong?" Leia asked, sensing her mother's apprehension.

Padmé opened her mouth – presumably to insist that nothing was wrong – before closing it again and chuckling at herself feebly. Leia smiled at her mother's endearing self-deprecation; she of all people knew that there was little point in lying to Leia about what she was feeling. Leia could always sense the truth. Out of all her Jedi powers, that was the one which was perhaps most refined. Luke had never gotten the knack of it like Leia had, despite the fact that she had been his master for nearly ten years.

"Why don't you just see it for yourself," Padmé suggested.

Somewhat unnerved, Leia hesitated for a moment before getting to her feet and making her way toward her mother. Falling into step with Padmé, Leia slowed her gait considerably so they could walk together.

Upon taking a turn into the main living area where she and Han had argued yesterday, Leia came to an abrupt stop. "Who are you?" she asked.

The stranger standing in his living room turned toward her voice and widened her eyes in fear. She was a lithe woman with flowing brown hair which was braided into a single plait cascading down her back.

"I'm Qi'ra," the woman said cautiously.

Leia narrowed her eyes contemptuously at her uninvited guest. So this was Qi'ra? The woman who had who had crawled back into Han's arms twenty years after breaking his heart?

"I know you probably don't want to see me," she prefaced, pausing to gulp nervously when Leia flared her nostrils. "I just… I'm concerned about Han," she said.

"Are you now?" Leia asked bitingly. "That must be a first for you."

"Leia!" Padmé protested, but Leia ignored her.

"What happened?" she asked Qi'ra.

The anxious woman glanced at Padmé whom she no doubt felt more comfortable with. "He… he was acting really strange this morning after Rey left."

Leia raised a hand to stop her. "What do you mean Rey left?" she asked sharply.

Qi'ra tilted her head in bemusement. "You didn't know? She went to spend the day with Ben in the Senate."

Leia blinked a few times as she assimilated this bizarre statement. "She… what?" she asked.

"It was actually quite sweet of Ben," Qi'ra said with a hesitant smile. "He offered to look after her for the day."

Her son had _offered _to babysit the girl? That didn't sound anything like Ben whom she knew as a recluse young man who did everything in his power to avoid unnecessary social interaction. Leia couldn't make any sense of this.

"How nice of him," her mother said with a cloying smile.

"Why was I not informed about this arrangement?" Leia asked irritably. "You of all people should know how dangerous –"

"That's a conversation you should have with your son," Qi'ra interrupted audaciously. "Besides, it's hardly relevant to what I wanted to tell you."

Leia seethed silently at Qi'ra for a moment before acquiescing and dropping the issue. "Fine," she said. "What do you have to say?"

Qi'ra gave her an appreciative nod for her compliance. "As I was saying, Han was acting strange this morning," she began. "He kept mumbling to himself about something. When I asked him what he was saying, he told me that he'd finally found what he was looking for."

Leia stiffened viscerally at this comment. "That's impossible," she said. "It doesn't exist."

Qi'ra shrugged. "Perhaps not, but Han seems to believe it," she said. "I'm worried for him. He left in a big hurry and wouldn't tell me where he was going. Do you think you can find him?"

Leia nodded absently and looked away toward the floor. Could… could it be true? Could Han really have found…

No. She couldn't do that. There was nothing to find. There _couldn't_ be. Because if there was…

"I can find him," Leia said in a husky voice as she returned her attention to Qi'ra. "But there's something you should know."

"What's that?" Qi'ra asked.

"Han is in terrible danger," she said. "I can sense it."

With that portentous proclamation, Leia pushed past Qi'ra roughly and strode out of her apartment to find her estranged husband.

And perhaps when she found him, she would also find what she feared most.

* * *

Rey's mood seemed to have improved considerably after they had gotten a bite to eat at the cafeteria in the basement of the Senate building. She had regained a bounce to her step – literally. Upon alighting from the elevator on the floor where his office was, Rey skipped down the corridors with her characteristic girlish enthusiasm.

Ben was smiling at the sight when she suddenly tripped. A bitter, indescribable cold washed over him and Ben felt frozen for a few terrible moments. Shaking himself free of this ephemeral paralysis, Ben rushed over toward Rey who was sprawled on the floor of the hallway.

"Rey! Rey, are you okay?"

Scooping her up into his arms and propping her back against the wall, Ben saw that she was shivering. Her brown eyes were wide with fear as she stared back at him.

"You felt it too?" she asked him in a tremulous voice.

Ben nodded, licking his lips nervously as he struggled to identify what exactly he had felt. "It was… cold," he said finally.

"So cold," Rey agreed, pulling her knees into her chest as she continued to shiver and sweat began to bead her forehead.

Just then, Ben was startled when he felt a vibration against his thigh. Hastily reaching into his pocket, Ben produced his comlink and activated it.

"What?" he asked testily.

"_Ben, where are you? Is the girl with you?_"

"Mom?" Ben asked, surprised.

"_The girl? Is she with you?_"

"Rey? How do you know about that?"

"_Never mind how!_" his mother's voice said loudly. "_I need you to keep her safe. Give A5 a blaster if you have to. Stay in your office with the girl, do you hear me?_"

"Mom, what the hell is going on?" Ben asked, meeting Rey's frightened gaze as he looked up from the comlink.

"_Did you feel the tremor?_"

Ben faltered at this question. Was that what they had felt? A disturbance in the Force? He had only ever heard about such a thing from Luke; he had never known that he had the ability to detect such things.

"We felt… something," Ben admitted. "What was it?"

"_It's your father,_" Leia said. "_He's in danger._"

"Dad?" Rey said in a small voice.

"_I'm on my way with Luke and Chewie to find him now, but I need your word that you'll protect the girl. Can you do that?_"

"Mom –"

"_Just do it! I have to go. Keep the girl safe!_"

With that, the transmission cut out abruptly. Clutching the comlink fiercely, Ben stared back at Rey silently for a few moments as he processed this bizarre and troubling conversation. Why did his mother care so much about where Rey was? What was his father in danger from? And how did it have to do with Rey?

"Ben, we have to find him," Rey said determinedly. "Dad's in danger."

"You're not going anywhere," Ben said sternly. "I gave my mother my word."

"I can't just stay here!" Rey protested. "I have to help him!"

"My mother can handle this," Ben said confidently, although truthfully he had no idea whether that was true or not. Surely it was! His mother could handle anything, right?

"You don't know that," Rey said as she struggled to her feet without his assistance. Legs wobbling a bit, she slapped away his outstretched hand and began retreating from him. "You're not going to keep me prisoner here, Ben," she said, her voice suddenly sounding unfamiliar to him as it was now devoid of its vivacious charm. "Either you come with me or I go alone. I'm not staying."

"Rey –"

"He's in danger, Ben!" Rey exclaimed, eyes shining with fear. "I can't lose him!"

Ben hesitated as he contemplated Rey's trembling lip and her quivering brow. It was clear that Han Solo was the most important person in the galaxy to her. Who was he to give her vague assurances that he would be fine when his intuition suggested the contrary? He had sensed that… tremor. Whatever it was, it wasn't good.

"If we do this, we do it on my terms, okay?" he said suddenly, scarcely believing the words that were coming out of his own mouth. Was he really about to blatantly defy his mother's orders? "You're not to leave my sight for a second, okay?" Rey nodded vigorously in affirmation. "Okay, good," Ben said. "Give me your word that you aren't going to try anything stupid?"

"Sure," Rey said, clearly irritated by his cautiousness. "Can we go now?"

"I need to get something first," he said. "Follow me."

"But –"

"No buts!" Ben roared. "I'm in charge here!" Grabbing her roughly by the arm, Ben all but dragged her down the hallway in the opposite direction of the elevator.

Reaching the entrance to his office, Ben fumbled with the optical sensor for a moment before finally managing to get a proper reading to open the door. Releasing Rey in the hallway, Ben rushed toward his desk. Circling around to the opposite side, Ben kneeled down and entered a code into the keypad inlaid in the bottom drawer. The drawer opened with a click, revealing a safe made of impenetrable durasteel. Picking the heavy safe up with both hands, he set it down on the surface of his desk with a heavy thud.

"A5, get over here!" he yelled to his droid who was watching nervously from the corner. The protocol droid complied with his demand at once and came ambling over. "Open this safe for me, would you?"

"Of course, Master Skywalker," A5 said. Ben stepped back as he watched A5 finagle with the mechanism for a few moments. Ben had designed this safe himself a few years ago, and he was proud to say it was perhaps his finest invention after A5, of course. He had coded it in such a way that his loyal droid was the only one who could open it. Nothing short of a lightsaber could pierce this safe's thick shell.

Finally, A5 stepped aside and the safe opened with a mechanical hiss. Wrenching the lid off, Ben reached inside and produced a blaster. "A5, take this," he said, throwing the blaster to the droid.

"Master Skywalker, I must object –"

"Just take it!" Ben bellowed. "You're base function is to assist me, is it not? Well I need you to assist me by protecting Rey and myself with that blaster. Can you do that?"

A5 didn't answer for a moment as his circuits attempted to make sense of this bizarre command. "Yes, Master Skywalker," he said finally. "I can do that."

"Good," Ben said upon pulling out a second blaster from the safe. "Rey, you take this," he said, throwing the small blaster to the girl without hesitation. Intuitively, he knew this was probably a terrible idea, but Ben felt it best if Rey had a means to protect herself in case they ran into trouble.

"What about you?" Rey asked as she wielded the blaster with uncanny familiarity.

"I don't need a blaster," he said. Reaching into the safe one last time, Ben wrapped his hand around the hilt of his mother's lightsaber – the blade of Vitrius – and lifted it into the air. Eying the infamous weapon with apprehension, Ben took a deep breath before lowering it and clipping it to his belt.

"Alright," he said. "Let's go."

* * *

**Author's Note: That's a very astute observation about the title, 1saaa. One thing I would like to say about that is that the heir of Vitrius and the heir of Skywalker don't necessarily have to be the same person. I leave that to you to interpret. **


	7. Save Her

Chapter 7 – Save Her

"Wait a second, I don't know where to go."

They had just reached his speeder when Ben came to a stop, realizing this dilemma. Rey ignored him as she leapt into the passenger seat and buckled in.

"Rey, wait –"

"I know where he is," Rey said impatiently. "Just drive!"

"But how –"

"I can sense him," she interrupted. "He's at the Falcon."

"You can sense him? What do you mean –"

"Ben!"

"Okay, okay!"

Wrenching the side door open, Ben assisted his cumbersome protocol droid into the back seat before getting behind the wheel himself. Activating the slick speeder, Ben backed out of the lot and zoomed off into the sky. Wind whipped against his face as he drove with uncharacteristic recklessness, swerving in and out of traffic without refrain. Disgruntled drivers whom he passed honked mercilessly at him, yet Ben paid them no heed.

They reached the spaceport in less than ten minutes. Upon parking his speeder, Ben unbuckled and alighted from his vessel with haste. Pausing to see if Rey and A5 were following him, Ben rushed ahead and unclipped his mother's lightsaber from his belt as he led them toward the Falcon.

Ben could now understand what Rey had meant when she had said she sensed Solo; he could sense him too. He couldn't quite explain it, but Ben intuitively knew where to go – it was as if something was calling him, beckoning him almost. All the while, that same 'something' was whispering to him – not words per se, but warnings. He could tell that his father was in terrible danger.

The spaceport was bustling with the quotidian early-afternoon activity. Merchants, droids, and customs inspectors of all sorts milled about, making it difficult for Ben to push through the crowd while also keeping an eye on Rey behind him. At one point Ben began to panic when they got separated for a few moments. Catching the glint of A5's platinum plating, however, Ben found them again and calmed down.

"Come on," Ben said when he made his way back over toward Rey. "We're close." Grabbing her by the hand, Ben was determined not to let her out of his sights again.

Cutting through the crowd like a vibroblade through butter, Ben and Rey surged forward toward the landing pad where they knew the Falcon to be. The gates slid open as they reached them and only then did Ben release Rey's hand as he scampered up the steps two at a time. The distinctive shape of the Falcon came into view and Ben was prepared to continue onward when he came to an abrupt stop at the top of the stairs. Han Solo was standing about two dozen meters away with his back facing them. He seemed to be talking to someone…

"Ben! What are you waiting for?" Rey asked when she all but ran into him.

"Shh!" he whispered. "Follow me, and stay low."

Hunching his back so as to limit his visibility, Ben scurried forward and to the left where a pile of cargo crates hat been stacked. Pressing his back against the crates, Ben leaned forward to get a better look at who Solo was talking to.

"What's going on?" Rey asked in a hushed voice.

"I… I'm not sure," Ben said as struggled to see around Solo's shoulder. "He's talking to someone."

"Who?"

"I don't know."

"What are they saying?"

Ben strained his ears as he tried to listen in on the conversation. He couldn't hear what Solo was saying on account to him facing away from them, and he could only hear snippets from what the other person was saying.

"_Like you abandoned your son_," he thought he heard. Ben stiffened at this and gripped the hilt of Vitrius' lightsaber tighter. Who was this person and why were they talking about him?

"Ben?" Rey asked. "What are they talking about?" Rey asked.

"A5 can you make sense of this?" Ben asked the droid who was crouched next to Rey.

"My auditory receptors are no superior to your own, sir," A5 informed him. "If I remember correctly, you didn't deem it necessary to enhance them when you were programing me," he added with a hint of bitterness.

Ben winced at this as he nodded. "Sorry 'bout that," he mumbled as he returned his attention to the conversation. Just as he did so, the mysterious person whom Solo was talking to yelled loudly: "_Because you lied to her!_"

Her? Who was her? Could it be Leia? Or perhaps Rey?

Ben was pondering this when the doors to the landing pad opened once more. Swiveling his head toward the noise, Ben felt a great sense of relief when he saw his mother followed closely by Luke and Chewbacca rushing toward them.

"Stand down," he mouthed to them as he gestured with his head toward Solo. This was clearly a precarious situation which he doubted would be improved by the arrival of two armed and belligerent Jedi Masters. His mother received his message and nodded, coming to a stop at the top step and leaning down much like he was.

What happened next felt like it unfolded in slow motion, but it couldn't have taken any more than fifteen seconds. Turning back to keep an eye on the conversation, Ben felt goosebumps flared up on the back of his neck as he was awash with the same trenchant cold from earlier. Utterly frozen, Ben could only watch in terror as it happened.

"No!"

The horrible sound of two parallel screams pierced the air as a red blade erupted out of his father's back, the now-familiar hum of a lightsaber sounding unnaturally loud as it reverberated in the spacious landing pad. For a fraction of a second, nobody moved as the blade was thrust deeper into his father's chest. His whole body went limp and the blade was pulled back. As his father fell to his knees, Ben could finally see who it was he had been talking to.

It was Ania.

Rendered immobile by paralytic shock, Ben was unable to stop Rey as she leapt to her feet and opened fire with her blaster. Caught off guard, Ania didn't react in time and she was grazed in the left arm. As she stumbled backward, Ben finally regained control over his limbs as he leapt up and wrapped his arms around Rey to restrain her.

"Rey, stop!" he yelled.

"Let me go!"

Ania was stumbling backward as her wounded arm hanged limply by her side. Their eyes met for the briefest of moments, and Ben was inhaled sharply at what he saw.

She was crying, and judging by the wetness of her cheeks, Ben knew it wasn't because of the blaster wound. The moment passed, and Ania's glistening eyes widened in abject fear as she looked away. Following her eyes, Ben saw Luke and Leia rushing toward her with their respective green and blue lightsabers held high.

Sheathing her own weapon, Ania ran away. Ben was unable to watch for any longer when he was struck by a colossal blow as Rey slammed the back of her head into his chin. Falling onto his back, Ben felt blood pool up in his mouth as Rey escaped with her blaster held high.

"Master Skywalker!"

Accepting A5's outstretched hand, Ben spat out blood as he got upright into a seated position. A deafening sound was followed by a gust of wind which nearly knocked Ben back over. Struggling onto his hands and knees with A5's assistance, Ben crawled forward toward the prone form of his father.

"Dad…"

"Come back you coward! Come back!"

"Leia, stop!"

Ben craned his neck upward to see his mother standing a few feet away from him. Her lightsaber was discarded by her feet as she raised her hands to the air and screamed. Trembling with fear, Ben felt the energy around him which he had only just began to identify start to swirl and churn at his mother's behest. The bitter chill which had permeated into his core was amplified at the sight, a pall of darkness threatening to consume him whole…

"Let her go!"

The Falcon was directly above him, the bright blue of its thrusters blinding him with their intensity and the propulsion of its engines causing his hair to whip backward. Leia was still screaming at the top of her lungs, the cacophony barraging his eardrums horribly…

The engines suddenly brightened even further and all of a sudden the Falcon was gone, streaks of exhaust all that remained as it escaped into hyperspace. Exhausted, Leia lowered her arms and fell to her knees.

"Ben."

No longer impeded by the wind from the Falcon, Ben managed to get to his feet and stagger forward towards his father. Falling to his side, Ben felt blood trickle down his chin as he pulled his father up off the ground and into his arms.

"Dad –"

"I'm so sorry, son."

"You're okay, you're going to be okay. We're going to get you help."

"Look after… look after Rey for me."

"Dad, stop talking. You're going to be okay."

"Leia."

Ben looked up to see his mother leaning opposite him, her face streaked with tears of her own. Looming over them was Luke and Chewbacca. Rey was wrapping her arms around the Wookiee's waist as she pressed her face into his fur, unable to look.

"Save her. Y-you have to save her."

"Han –"

"Save her like you saved your father. Save… our daughter."

Han swallowed hard as he raised a trembling hand to Leia's face. Cupping her cheek for a moment, his hand fell back down to the ground and collided into the ground with a thud. Head lolling backward, Han Solo was gone – the estranged father fading in his own son's arms.

Ben's lower lip trembled violently as teared blurred his vision. "Dad, Dad, Dad," he repeated as he propped his father's dead body up against his chest. "Come back, come back –"

"Ben."

"No, no! He… he can't be gone."

"Ben, stop." A soft touch on his hand caused Ben to look up at his mother. "He's gone."

Words failed him as his tongue was rendered irresponsive by tremors which shook through his whole body. He felt a pair of arms wrapping around his torso pull him up to his feet. Unable to resist, Ben dropped his father's body unceremoniously. His knees wobbled precariously but Ben didn't fall over, supported upward by Luke's strong arms. Looking down, he saw his mother place a hand on Han's chest where he had been stabbed and plant a soft kiss on his forehead.

"Goodbye, my love," she whispered.

With that, she got back to her feet and stepped aside as Chewbacca leaned down. Taking his father's body into his long, furry arms, Chewbacca lifted Han into the air while Rey watched with tears streaming down her cheeks. Cradling the back of Han's head with his paw, Chewbacca pressed his forehead against Han's and mumbled something unintelligible to him.

Goodbye, he assumed.

* * *

"Ben? Ben can you hear me?"

Ben looked up slowly yet sightlessly, his eyes entirely out of focus. He felt as if he was in a dream; he was stuck in a haze with his mother's voice beckoning him back to the light.

"Ben?"

"I… I don't understand."

"What don't you understand?"

"I don't understand anything."

He was seated on a chair in his mother's apartment. How he had gotten there, Ben hadn't the faintest idea. All he remembered was cradling his father's lifeless body and being dragged to his feet. He hadn't been able to walk. Someone had dragged him away from the landing pad and away from his father's corpse…

"Where… where is Rey?"

"The girl? Chewie took her to be with Qi'ra."

"Is she… is she alright?"

No response. Of course she wasn't.

"Ben, we need you to answer some questions."

That was Luke's voice. He sounded grave.

"Where did you get that lightsaber?"

Ben looked down. Rested atop his lap was Vitrius' lightsaber, the red blade so much like the one he had seen tear through his father's chest…

Ania. He had trusted her. He had thought she was his friend! He had thought…

"Ben. Answer the question."

That was his mother again, her voice firm and authoritative as always.

"She killed him," he whispered.

"Who was she, Ben?"

"She told me she was my friend."

"Tell us who she was."

"That's enough, Leia! The boy needs to recover first." His grandmother. He hadn't known she was here.

"No, I need answers and I need them now."

"I think you already have the answer, Leia."

"Excuse me? What is that supposed to mean, Luke?"

"I heard what Han said. He told you to save her and that she was your daughter. Since when did you have a daughter, Leia?"

"I don't."

"Then explain."

Ben felt lightheaded. Sagging his head forward, he placed his hands atop the back of his skull and rocked back and forth. His father's last words made no sense to him. It was almost as if… as if…

"Ania's my sister, isn't she?"

The room froze. Looking back up, Ben's eyes finally refocused and he took in his surroundings. Seated directly in front of him was his mother, her eyes steely as she leaned in toward him with her hands clasped together. Standing to her left was Luke, his somber expression rendering his features more aged than Ben had ever seen them. To Leia's left was Padmé – his grandmother the sole one looking back at him with compassion in her eyes. Their three figures were all cast in shadow, the fading afternoon light flooding in from the windows behind them.

"Who told you that name?"

His mother's face was taut and her eyes were dry, but Ben could feel the despondency emanating from her. She had been just as devastated as he had been, but was far more adept at hiding it.

"She brought me your lightsaber," Ben explained, speaking softly yet audibly. "She told me everything."

"Everything?" Luke asked.

"I know about Vitrius."

His mother's face twitched.

"I know what Sidious did to you," he said, turning to his grandmother. "And I know what you did for him," he concluded, returning his gaze to Leia. "Ania knew it all."

"That's impossible," Luke insisted. "Nobody outside of this room knows about that."

Leia closed her eyes and covered her face with her hands. "There is one other," she said.

"Who?" Padmé asked.

"Father."

Silence.

"It was too horrible, I couldn't believe it."

Luke and Padmé looked at each other, identical expressions of bemusement etched across their faces. "Leia, what are you talking about?" Luke asked.

"She died, just like the first one. I–I saw her body. She wasn't breathing. She was dead in my arms…" She trailed off, a distant look in her eyes as she stared at the floor. "I didn't learn until after…"

"What did you learn?"

"Father… he came to me. He told me what happened. Who took her."

"I don't understand."

"I wouldn't believe it. After what happened to me, nobody could ever replicate my fate. It couldn't be real." A pause. "And so I chose to deny it. I denied and denied and denied…" Another pause, far longer than the last.

"Han was furious when I told him what Father told me," she resumed finally. "He wanted to go looking, but I told him there was nothing to find. He went anyway, and I told him never to come back. I thought he was just giving up on our family. I never thought he'd find anything. I was so sure that she was gone. So sure that Father must have lied." Her lower lip quivered for a moment as she made to wipe her nose with the back of her sleeve. "He hasn't spoken to me since it happened," she said in a tremulous voice. "I thought it was because he was disappointed in me, but now I know the truth. He's been with her, just like how he was with me. He must have told her the truth, or at least parts of it. That's what she told Ben."

Nobody spoke for a long while, the three of them absorbing this information while Leia's façade of stability began to dissolve, her whole body trembling and quivering with sorrow.

"It's all my fault!" she screamed at the floor. "It's my fault! Mine! Mine! Mine!"

Luke placed a hand on her shoulder, his face scrunched up as he looked away out the window. Padmé got out of her seat and onto her knees by Leia's side, tears streaming down her face as she ran a sympathetic hand through her broken daughter's hair. Ben stayed where he was, ripples of shock cascading through him as he processed this tragic tale.

Ania was his sister. His mother had let her get away. And now his father was dead because of it.

Leia was right.

This was all her fault.

* * *

An hour later, Luke and Ben were standing outside on the patio while Padmé attended to Leia who had yet to cease crying. Leaned over the railing, Ben squinted as he watched the sun fade beyond the horizon while Luke rested a hand on his back, rubbing an occasional pattern as he too stared off sightlessly at the sunset.

"You two are bonded through the Force, you know," Luke said unexpectedly.

Ben glanced up at his uncle for a moment before turning back toward the horizon. "What are you talking about?" he asked in a husky voice.

"You and Ania," Luke explained. "When I first met her the other day, I was stunned by how familiar she was, but I couldn't quite understand why." Ben nodded, having experienced a similar reaction when he met Ania for the first time as well. Luke smiled weakly as he sighed. "She looks like her mother, but not enough for it to be obvious," he said. "She has Leia's eyes, but her face is more like Han's."

"That's what you say about me," Ben commented.

Luke nodded and gave him a pat on the back. "That's right," he said wistfully.

Neither said anything for a few moments while Ben continued to contemplate Ania. Now that he thought about it, everything made so much more sense. He understood now why he had been so enticed by her. It wasn't because she was foreign, but because she was familiar. So very familiar.

"I sensed a bond between you two when you met me on the landing pad that day," Luke said after a while. "It was fledgling, but strong. I knew at once that you loved each other because it is only with love that the strongest of bonds are forged."

"I don't love her," Ben insisted bitterly. "I hate her."

How could he not? She had killed his father. _Their _father.

Luke didn't respond to this vitriolic statement right away. Retracting his hand from Ben's back, Luke turned away from the railing and paced a few steps away. Pushing himself upright, Ben turned and followed his uncle with his eyes.

"You're very much like your mother, Ben," he said finally, back still facing him. "For her, the line between hate and love is oftentimes blurred." Ben narrowed his eyes as he considered this statement. "She hated our father so much that she nearly killed him," he stated. "Yet even so, she never stopped loving him. That was very much also the case with Han. In fact, I think that's even the case with you."

"With me?" Ben repeated.

"She loves you, Ben," he told him as he turned back around. "Far more so than she is able to convey. But despite that, she also hates you in a way."

"What do you mean?" Ben asked, somewhat frightened by this assessment.

"She hates that you got to live when your brother did not," Luke explained. "And now she hates that you got to live a life of luxury when your sister lived a life of torment."

"I have no brother," Ben said at once.

Luke shrugged. "No, not really," he agreed. "He died a stillborn two years before you were born."

Ben's eyes widened. "Why did nobody ever tell me?" he asked.

Luke bowed his head at this question. "You must know by now that the truth is not something we Skywalkers are particularly fond of," he said heavily. "Leia convinced herself that she was unable to have children after all of the trauma of her childhood. Han wanted to keep trying, however, so she folded. You were born three weeks early and Leia was so terrified that you wouldn't make it…"

Ben looked away when Luke trailed off, long-forgotten memories which he couldn't possibly have remembered flashing before his eyes. The fuzzy yet unmistakable sight of his mother, far younger than she was now, wailing uncontrollably. His father comforting her as he was taken away by droids…

"So the third time around, everyone was sure that it had been an accident. No way Leia wanted to go through that ordeal another time. You were five going on six at the time. We think you must have blotted it out of your memory because of how horrible it was."

And so he had. Those long-repressed visions came back to him in one single, overwhelming flood. He was lying in bed between his two parents, his ear rested atop his mother's swollen belly as he listened to the baby kick…

"_You're going to have a little sister, Ben,_" his father had told him, his face alight with happiness. "_We're going to name her after your grandfather._"

"_My grandfather?_" Ben had repeated, perplexed. "_But he has a boy's name._"

His mother had laughed – the sound mellifluous and angelic to his ears. He hadn't known until now how much he missed that sound. "_Your grandmother used to call him Ani,_" she said. "_So we'll name the baby Ania._"

"_Ania,_" he had said. "_Baby Ania._"

"I wasn't there when it happened since I was busy with Order business," Luke continued, rousing Ben out of these memories. "It wasn't hard to believe, though. I knew Leia had had a difficult pregnancy, even more so than the ones with you and your brother. When your grandmother told me she had delivered another stillborn, I didn't doubt it for a second. Why would I have?

Han and Leia's marriage fell apart soon thereafter. After the first miscarriage, they had a hard time preserving their relationship and after the second one I just knew that they wouldn't be able to make it. Even so, I was disappointed. I had hoped that their shared love for you would have convinced them to try harder, but I was proven wrong. I won't deny that I blamed Han for it. He had always been a bit of a renegade, the type that didn't commit himself easily. I guess I was wrong, though."

So that's what had happened? Han had left to go find his sister while his mother denied that she was alive? Why had she denied it so steadfastly? Why had she convinced herself that Ania was doomed to repeat her fate if she had indeed survived?

"Who took her, Luke?" Ben asked. "Who took Ania?"

Luke shook his head and rubbed his temple wearily. "I don't know," he admitted. "But there's only one way to find out."

"What do you mean?"

Luke gave him a wry smile as he reached into his pocket and produced a small, flashing device. "I threw a homing beacon onto the Falcon before it escaped into hyperspace," he said. "I know exactly where she went."

Ben's eyes widened as he realized the implications of this. "You mean to say she's going to return to whoever stole her?" he asked.

"That's the idea," Luke confirmed.

"So we can go there and kill them," Ben said with a growl.

Luke contemplated his nephew's face for a moment before nodding. "I was thinking that exactly," he said. "And then we can save your sister."

Ben's enthusiasm faded. "Are you sure there's anything left to save?" he asked.

Luke reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I know there is," he said, a soft glimmer twinkling in his blue eyes. "No one's ever really gone."


	8. Forgiveness

**Author's Note: This chapter provides a succinct summation of the events of _Heir of Vader. _****For those of you who have already read that story, you may find that particular section of the chapter a bit dull. For those of you who haven't read it, however, this backstory will be especially helpful for your comprehension of both Luke and Leia's characters in this universe. **

* * *

Chapter 8 – Forgiveness

"_Do you know who I am?" She was standing with her back facing the ramp to the Falcon, her cape rustling a bit in the wind. Solo walked toward her slowly, his eyes wide with disbelief as he stared back at her face. _

"_You're my girl. My Ania." _

"_It's that what you think?" _

"_It's what I know." _

_The rage that she always held within her erupted to the surface at these perfidious words. "Liar!" she yelled. "You abandoned me!" _

"_Abandoned you? Ania I've been looking for you for eighteen years!" _

_A long pause. _

_"You… you have?" she asked. _

"_You were stolen from us." _

_She shook her head, refusing to belief such a thing. She hadn't been stolen! Solo had left her for dead on Tatooine and lied to her mother about it! "You're lying," she spat. "She would have found me. She wouldn't have abandoned me like you abandoned your son." _

"_She thought you were dead." _

"_Because you lied to her!" _

"_I did no such thing." _

"_But… but…" _

_Solo took a step toward her, causing her to stiffen. _

"_Ania, come with me," he said. "I will tell you the full story if you let me." A hand extended toward her cheek…_

"_Don't touch me!" she cried._

"_Come home," he pleaded._

_She couldn't do that. The war was not yet won. _

"_I… I can't. I can't go with you." _

"_Why not?" _

_There was no way she could explain. _

"_It's too late," she said_

"_Ania –"_

"_I'm sorry," she said, tears streaming forth from her eyes as the deed neared. "D-Dad, I'm so, so sorry." _

"_For what?" _

"_Forgive me." _

Ania woke up with a start just as she rammed the lightsaber into Solo's chest. Her whole body was trembling viciously as she rubbed her eyes. They were wet. Evidently she had been crying even in her sleep.

Arching her back as she sat upright in the pilot's chair in the cockpit of the Falcon, Ania heard a series of pops and cracks. Wrapping her hands against the back of her neck, Ania twisted first left and then right as she worked out the kinks. Sleeping in such an uncomfortable chair had undeniably been a bad idea, but she hadn't intended on falling asleep in the first place. She had known that the nightmares would come if she did indeed succumb to her exhaustion…

Had Solo been telling her the truth? Had he been looking for her for the past eighteen years? She couldn't possibly believe that. Her master had told that Solo had betrayed her mother! For her whole life, she had believed that to be true. But what if that had been just another lie? After all, she knew that her master had lied to her about her mother. He had wanted her to hate both of her parents, but Ania had always known the truth about her mother.

The voice had told her the truth. The voice had never lied to her. The voice had never abandoned her like Solo had.

Or had he?

Had she killed an innocent man? Ben seemed to hate him, so surely that meant that Solo was a bad person. Right? Her brother would know more about that than she did, anyway. Solo must have been lying! There's no way he had been searching for her all her life. Why else would he have adopted that girl Rey? No, Solo must have lied.

He _had_ to have lied.

Or else Ania had just committed an unforgivable offense. She could justify it, saying that Solo's death was necessary to bring about her despicable master's demise, but was that even true? Solo had asked her to come home with him. What if… what if she had accepted?

She couldn't think like this. The most perilous part of her plan was yet to come. Her master would be satisfied with her loyalty to him now. He would be vulnerable now! She wasn't strong enough to destroy him, of course, but someone else was. Oh yes, his end was near!

And then what? Ania never thought that far ahead, but it was hard not to now that it wasn't so distant anymore. Would all be set right? Could she return to her family? Could she have a mother and a brother for the first time in her life? Ania had always yearned to be reunited with them ever since the voice had told her about them all those years ago on Tatooine.

But would they accept her after what she had done? She would have thought Ben would have been glad to see his traitorous father fall by her blade, but clearly she had been wrong. Their eyes had met for a fraction of a second, and Ania saw none of the appreciation she had expected. He had been horrified of what she had done.

And what about her mother? Ania had thought that her mother hated Solo after everything he had done to her. But when she had seen her charging toward her with her blue lightsaber in hand, Ania realized that this must not have been the case. Leia hated her for what she had done, she could feel it in the Force. In that moment, Leia Skywalker had ceased to be and Darth Vitrius had returned. It had been a thoroughly terrifying experience: the most powerful Force-sensitive in the galaxy had channeled her hatred to the fullest extent to destroy her. It was truly a miracle that Ania had been able to escape with her life.

It crushed her to know that her mother hated her. Sure, she didn't know who she was just yet, but even so, she doubted that revelation would change much. Leia despised her for killing her husband, irrespective of who she happened to be. Would that change after this was all over and her master was dead? Would her mother come to understand why she had done it? Would she understand that she had done it because she loved her?

Would her mother ever love her in return? Could she ever forgive her for what she had done?

That was all Ania wanted. She revered her mother. The voice had told her everything about her, and Ania knew that she was the most incredible person in the galaxy. She wanted nothing more than to be her daughter in reality as well as in blood. She wanted to be Ania Skywalker, daughter of Leia. Had she thrown away that future by killing Solo? Had she made a grave miscalculation?

There could only be one way to find out. The day of reckoning was near, and Ania feared it just as much as she longed for it.

* * *

"Leia! Open up, we need to talk to you."

"Go away, Luke!"

Ben watched as his uncle smirked. "I seem to remember having this conversation before," he mumbled to himself before rapping on the door with greater force than before. "Leia, open up or I'm going to force this door open."

"Go ahead! I dare you!"

Luke sighed exasperatedly as he rolled his eyes. "Any ideas?" he asked him.

"You're not actually going to break the door down?" Ben asked.

"Break it down? Ben, don't be ridiculous," Luke chided. "These doors are solid mahogany! They're way too expensive to break down. That was an empty threat, pure and simple." He paused and shook his head in a self-deprecating fashion. "She can always tell when I was lying," he mused.

Ben snorted in agreement. "So what now?" he asked. "Just wait her out?"

"No," Luke said. "We just need a higher authority."

"A higher authority?" Ben repeated, bemused.

"I'll be right back."

Ben blinked in bewilderment as he wanted his uncle walk away and out of sight. Turning back toward the door to his mother's room, Ben suddenly felt a flicker of pain pass through his whole body, Shocked more so than hurt, Ben gasped as he pressed his hand against the wall to stabilize himself.

What had that been? It had felt almost… exogenous.

Ben didn't have any more time to ponder this strange sensation as Luke had just returned. Holding onto his arm was Padmé, an all-too-familiar steely element evident in her eyes. Stepping aside, Ben watched as his grandmother pounded on Leia's door.

"Leia!" she said tersely. "Open this door now, or else."

Ben shared a look with Luke when they heard no response. Surely Leia wouldn't be bold enough to defy her mother. As far as Ben knew, she never had defied her before. Of all the people in the galaxy, Padmé was the only person whom Leia obeyed unequivocally.

After nearly a full minute, the door finally slid open to reveal the disheveled form of his mother. Her eyes were puffy and red and her cheeks were glistening from recently shed tears. Hunched forward slightly, she wrapped her arms around her torso as looked up at the three of them.

"Go away," she said hoarsely. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Well that's too bad," Padmé said brusquely as she pushed past her daughter into the bedroom. Leia turned and watched as she passed, resignation superseding her indignation at this rude entry. Sighing heavily, she rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand before following Padmé back into her bedroom.

Following after her, Ben turned on the light with a wave of his hand over the sensor. Blinking a few times as he adjusted to the bright fluorescent light, he saw his mother's bed in a state of disarray. Pillows had been discarded on the floor and the sheets were tousled and askew. In spite of the grim nature of the situation, Ben couldn't help but smirk triumphantly. All those times she criticized him for not making his bed, and now here she was! Oh, how the tables turn!

Pushing aside his childish thoughts, Ben watched from the corner of the room as Padmé sat down next to Leia at the foot of her bed. Closing the door behind him, Luke walked forward and produced the homing beacon from his pocket.

"You have to find her, Leia," he said to his sister. "You need to bring her home."

Leia shook her head without looking at the flashing beacon. "I failed her," she said morosely. "I failed everyone."

"Not yet you haven't," Luke said fiercely. "She's still out there. You can still save her."

"How can I do that, Luke?" Leia asked, her weary eyes glancing up at him for the first time.

"We did it for you," Luke said. "Don't you remember?"

Leia bowed her head and pursed her lips. "This is different," she said. "I'm responsible. You and Mom weren't."

"You're not responsible, Leia," Padmé interjected.

"Aren't I?" Leia asked. "I let her slip away. I let her repeat my fate."

"You did," Luke agreed. "But there's still time to rectify that."

"There's no fixing this, Luke," Leia said. "She hates me. She has every reason to hate me."

"That's not true."

The three of them looked up at him, the surprise evident on their faces that he would contribute to the conversation.

"What do you mean, Ben?" Luke asked.

"Ania doesn't hate you, Mom," Ben told his mother. "She adores you. She said you're her idol."

"She told you that?" Leia asked.

"She did," Ben affirmed. "And you know what else I know?" Leia didn't say anything, waiting for him to speak. "You have a responsibility to find her."

His mother didn't say anything for a moment, clearly taken aback by his uncharacteristic audacity. "Is that so?" she finally asked in a low voice.

"It was Dad's last wish," Ben said, undeterred by his mother's withering glare. "He told you to save her like you saved your father." While Ben didn't know what Han had meant by that, Ben was sure that his mother did.

Leia swallowed hard as she looked away from him, her chin beginning to tremble once more. "I… I can't," she said. "I never saved him, he saved me."

"That's not true, Leia," Padmé said, placing a hand on her daughter's knee.

"It is!" she insisted. "I tried to kill him and he stopped me. I'm not a savior, I'm a destroyer."

Vexed by her perpetual intransigence, Ben growled angrily and flailed his hands in exasperation. "What does that matter?" he asked loudly. "That's the past! Ania needs you right now! Why can't you understand that?"

"You don't understand anything, Ben!" Leia retorted angrily as she leapt up off the bed and pointed a finger at him. "You don't know what I've been through! How I've suffered!"

"Leia, calm down," Luke said as he quickly stepped in between them.

"You can't tell me what I have to do," Leia said, her vehemence enervating as she ran into Luke's chest. "Nobody… nobody tells me what to do," she said weakly. "I'm not a slave."

"You're not a slave," Luke agreed as he wrapped his arms around his despondent sister. "Not anymore."

Bewildered by this development, Ben merely watched as Leia dissolved into tears while Luke rocked her gently in his arms. Still seated on the bed, Padmé looked up at her children with a doleful expression. Unlike him, it seemed she had not been surprised by Leia's rapid disintegration. No doubt, she had seen it happen many times before.

"I'm not a slave," Leia continued to whimper, her voice muted as she sobbed into Luke's chest. "I'm not, I'm not, I'm not."

Never before had Ben appreciated how broken his mother truly was until now. She was a cripple – utterly and completely incapacitated by the demons of her traumatic past.

And Ben felt so, so sorry for her.

* * *

"There's something I don't understand."

They were seated in the living room, having elected to give Leia some space to think. Luke was next to his mother on the couch, a somber expression on both of their tired faces.

"What's that, Ben?" Luke asked unenthusiastically.

Ben hesitated, realizing this was probably not the best time for this question. To be fair, however, he should have known all of this information long ago. It was their fault that he had never known about his mother's past until only recently.

"Why did So… I mean, my father, tell my mother to save Ania like she saved her father? What does that mean?"

Luke and Padmé looked at each other before the latter sighed loudly. "I take it Ania didn't tell you about that part of the story?" Luke said.

Ben shook his head. "I don't know anything about my grandfather," Ben confirmed. "Who was he? And why did he need to be saved? And why –"

"Did Leia try to kill him?" Luke provided. Ben gulped audibly and nodded his head. Looking away out the window behind Ben's head, Luke was silent for a while, a contemplative expression etched across his face. "You have to forgive us for not telling you the truth, Ben," he said finally, languidly returning his gaze to Ben. "Your mother's past… it's just too painful for a child to understand."

"Well I'm not a child anymore," Ben said stiffly. "You can tell me now. You could have told me three years ago when I joined the Senate."

"We could have," Luke agreed. "Leia didn't let us, though. She didn't want you to know."

"Well how about now?" Ben asked. "I know everything else anyway. You might as well tell me everything."

Luke considered him for a few moments before nodding. "You're right," he said. "You deserve to know." Luke turned to his mother and placed his hand atop hers. "Do you want to tell him? You knew him best, after all."

Padmé smiled joylessly as she looked down at their merged hands. "Anakin's story is a tragedy I don't like reliving," she said in a barely audible voice. "You of all people know that, Luke."

"I know," Luke said, giving his mother's hand a pat. "But it's a tragedy Ben needs to know."

Padmé closed her eyes and nodded lugubriously. "Where should I begin?" she asked.

"At the beginning," Ben said at once. He wanted to know it all. He wanted to know exactly why his mother had become who she was today.

His grandmother chuckled softly, a distant look in her eyes when she opened them. "The beginning? Well that was a long, long time ago…" Ben leaned forward in his seat in anticipation yet didn't prod her to continue when she trailed off. It was clear that this was difficult for her to talk about, so Ben had no choice but to be patient. "Anakin was nine years old when we first met," she resumed finally. "He was a slave on Tatooine while I had just been elected Queen of Naboo."

"He was a slave?" Ben asked. Why was it that so many people in his family were slaves at some point in their lives?

Padmé nodded solemnly. "He and his mother Shmi were property of a Toydarian named Watto," she told him. "When I arrived, we were accompanied by a pair of Jedi who were protecting me in the wake of the Trade Federation's invasion." Ben nodded, having been deeply accustomed with his home planet's history. "When we met Anakin, the eldest Jedi knew at once that he was special."

"Special? How so?"

"He thought that Anakin was the Chosen One, which referred to a prophecy about bringing balance to the Force," Luke interjected. "It was because of Master Jinn that your grandfather was able to escape slavery and begin his training as a Jedi."

So he had been a Jedi, after all. This didn't come as much of a surprise to Ben who had always assumed this to be the case, but it was nice to hear confirmation. "Ten years later, Anakin and I were reunited," Padmé continued, her voice thick with nostalgia. "We fell in love and were married even though it was forbidden for Jedi to for attachments."

"It is?" Ben asked, unfamiliar with this rule. "Then why did Mom get to have a family?"

"She and I changed the code after we restored the Order," Luke explained. "And for good reason."

"Anakin had become convinced that I was going to die in childbirth," Padmé said. "In his desperation to save me, he turned to a man whom he thought would help him: Palpatine."

Ben blinked a few times in disbelief as he processed this statement. "Sidious? But… I thought…"

"He was manipulated, Ben," Luke said. "Sidious capitalized on his fears and ensnared him in a trap. From there on out, Anakin Skywalker ceased to be and Darth Vader emerged."

"Vader?" Ben repeated, aghast.

"With Vader's assistance, Sidious destroyed the Jedi Order and overthrew the Republic," Luke continued grimly, speaking on his mother's behalf who seemed to be too choked up to continue. "His plan would have worked to perfection had it not been for one Jedi who ruined everything."

"Obi-Wan," Padmé said faintly.

Ben stared at her. Obi-Wan? As in Obi-Wan Kenobi? The Jedi whom his mother had murdered?

"Obi-Wan was your grandfather's Master and friend," Luke explained. "When he heard what Anakin had done, he was horrified. He went to Mustafar to confront Vader, and it was there where he killed him."

"He killed him?" Ben repeated, utterly stunned by this revelation.

"He felt he had no choice," Luke said solemnly. "He thought that the man whom he had loved was gone, consumed by Vader."

A long silence followed as Ben tried to wrap his head around this information. None of this made any sense. If his grandfather had died before Leia had even been born, how come she had been the one to save him?

"But Anakin didn't die, or at least not in the fullest sense of the word," Luke continued, answering Ben's unasked question. "While his body burned on the banks of the lava rivers of Mustafar, his essence was transferred into the Force."

"What… what does that mean?" Ben asked, thoroughly perplexed by this vague statement.

"We don't know exactly, but we can theorize," Luke said. "Your mother believes that since Anakin failed to fulfill the Prophecy, the Force did not permit him to die. Instead it maintained his essence and returned it into the living form of another."

"Another?"

"Into his heir," Luke said ominously. "The heir of Vader."

Ben's eyes widened. "Vitrius," he said. Luke nodded and looked down at his mother who had leaned against his shoulder wearily, a single tear streaming down her cheek as she shut her eyes tightly. "But why her? Why not you?" Ben asked.

"Vader's spirit was almost fully dark," Luke explained. "It wouldn't have been able to enter me. Leia, however, was stolen at birth by Sidious. Under his tutelage, Leia was forced into the dark side, and as a result, Vader's essence was retransmitted into her."

Ben chewed nervously on his lower lip and glanced down the hallway where his mother's room was. "What does that mean, exactly?" he asked, dreading the answer.

"Leia could answer that best, but from what we understand Vader's voice was in her head for her entire childhood," Luke expounded. "It wasn't all bad. Vader was warped by darkness, but he still was her father. He loved her absolutely. It was because of him that Leia was able to survive Sidious' brutal training. He protected and nurtured her."

"For a time," Padmé contributed.

"For a time," Luke agreed.

"What do you mean?" Ben asked for what felt like the umpteenth time that afternoon.

"The three of us were reunited after eighteen years," Padmé said, her expression lightening somewhat as a wan smile emerged. "Leia captured me on my ship and interrogated me to find out the location of the Rebel Base. I tried to hide it from her, but you know how she is. You can't hide anything from Leia. I was horribly depressed, sure that I had doomed the Alliance to destruction and was going to die without having ever met either of my children. But then Luke came." She paused to look up and giver her son a warm smile. "He, Obi-Wan, Han, and Chewie concocted some absurd plan to rescue me. It wouldn't have worked without Leia's help, however."

"Why would she have helped you?" Ben asked. "She didn't know who you were, right?"

"She didn't," Padmé admitted. "But the voice in her head – the voice which belonged to Anakin rather than to Vader – convinced her to save me. It was only after we had escaped when the truth was revealed that I was in fact her mother. When she found out… she was… she was angry. She thought that I was trying to manipulate her just like Sidious had done. Vader told her to kill me."

Ben inhaled sharply. "She didn't try, did she?" he asked.

Padmé shrugged. "She did what she did, that's all I'll say about that," she said. "She quickly came to her senses and resisted Vader, however. When she defied him… that's when he turned against her."

"See Vader was more than just a voice in her head," Luke chimed in. "He was still alive, in a sense. When Leia disobeyed him, he turned his anger on her."

"What did he do?" Ben asked cautiously, not sure he wanted to know the answer.

Luke frowned and looked down at his feet. "I don't know the specifics, Leia would never tell us," he said. "All we know is that he hurt her." Ben clenched his jaw angrily, his once-rosy perception of his grandfather shattering before his eyes. "She wasn't defenseless, however. We soon found out that she could keep Vader at bay whenever she was with me."

"With you? But why?"

"Because the strength of our Force-bond," Luke said. "As siblings, our bond was powerful enough to fend off Vader's darkness. You share that same bond with your sister as well, Ben."

Ben inhaled deeply and chose to disregard this latter comment. "What happened next?" he asked instead.

"We knew we had to get Vader out of her head sooner rather than later," Luke said. "We went to a Sith world called Malachor where Leia thought she could find answers. When we arrived, Leia went off on her own and left us behind. While she went looking for the Holocron, the Emperor arrived and captured me and Mom."

"He did?" Ben asked, eyes wide in disbelief.

"He took us back to the Death Star. Back on Malachor, Vader returned since I was no longer there to protect Leia. He forced her to kill Obi-Wan to revive him." Ben was unable to ask Luke to elucidate upon this bizarre statement, his shock being too overwhelming by that point. "When Vader came back to life, he offered to do anything Leia wanted of him. When she asked him to help her rescue us from the Emperor, he agreed only reluctantly."

"But why wouldn't he want to rescue you? You're his family!"

Luke smiled thinly at his naïveté while Padmé shook her head. "He blamed me for his death and he hated me because of it," she said. "He thought I told Obi-Wan how to find him on Mustafar."

"Regardless, he came to save us anyway because Leia asked him to," Luke said before Ben could speak. "When they arrived, Leia went to find the Emperor while Vader came to rescue Mom and me from our cell."

"He was quite rude to us, if I remember correctly," Padmé said with a half-hearted attempt at levity.

"I'll say," Luke agreed darkly. "Either way, he took us to the throne room to meet up with Leia. It was there where she killed Sidious."

"And then you escaped?" Ben asked.

"Not exactly," Luke said, dashing Ben's optimism. "After Sidious was dead, Leia turned her lightsaber on Vader and tried to kill him."

"But why?"

Luke glanced at Padmé, looking uncomfortable with the question. "For a combination of factors, I suppose," he said tentatively. "For torturing her, for forcing her to kill Obi-Wan, and…"

"You can say it, Luke," Padmé said when he trailed off. "There's no point in lying to him."

Luke nodded heavily. "Before she killed him, Sidious showed Leia what had happened on Mustafar," he said. "When Mother arrived, she confronted him about what he had done and what he planned to do. He was… he was angry. He became convinced that she had plotted with Obi-Wan to kill her. So he…"

"He strangled me," Padmé said for him, her tone flat and impassive. "He came very close to killing me, and the twins with me. Leia found out and she tried to kill him because of it."

Unable to stay seated any longer, Ben stood upright and paced a few feet away. Running his hands through his hair, he turned away to look back at Luke and Padmé. "He deserved it," he said viciously. "He sounds like a monster."

Luke tilted his head and gave Ben a sympathetic look. "He was," he agreed. "But he didn't deserve to die. Not by Leia's blade, at least."

"How can you say that?" Ben asked.

"Because even after all that, she still loved him and he loved her," Luke said, standing up as well and taking a step toward him.

Ben was suddenly struck with a memory of his mother telling him something very similar. _No matter how much I hated him, he never stopped loving me, _she had told him.

"In the end, Anakin returned back to the light when he stopped himself from killing his daughter," Luke continued. "In that moment, he finally fulfilled the Prophecy and brought balance to the Force. It was because of your mother that he returned and his soul was saved."

Ben frowned, far from convinced by this. "Do you really think that?" he asked. "After everything he did? You think he could just be redeemed like that?"

"Forgiveness is the way of the Skywalkers, Ben," Padmé said from the couch. "You must always remember that. It is your grandfather's legacy."

"The only question is whether you and your mother will follow his example," Luke added. "Will you forgive Ania for what she did like Anakin would have? Or will you condemn her like Vader would have?"

Ben didn't have an answer to that. Forgiveness may be the way of the Skywalker name, as his grandmother so often said, but he found that it was much easier to hate than it was to forgive. Could he really forgive Ania for killing their father? And perhaps the far greater question was whether his mother could forgive herself for letting her daughter slip away.

"I want to forgive her," Ben said finally, feeling somewhat choked up as he spoke. "I just don't know how I can."

"She's your sister, Ben," Luke said softly. "You love her." Once again, Ben refused to corroborate this claim, but deep down he knew it was true. "You can forgive a person no matter what as long as you love them."

Ben could only hope that his uncle was right.


	9. Mother and Daughter

Chapter 9 – Mother and Daughter

Leia was seated cross-legged on her bed, her face rested atop a pillow on her lap. The once-soft fabric was now sopping wet with tears and snot, yet she made no effort to extricate herself from the unsavory situation. What little self-respect she had left had been expelled, never to return.

Her daughter. She had failed her.

_She's alive, Leia. Ania is alive. He took her. _

_You're lying! You have to be lying! _

_When have I ever lied to you, Leia? _

Never. He had done horrible things, yes, but lying was not one of them. He had told her the truth eighteen years ago and Leia had chosen not to believe him. She hadn't seen nor heard from her father ever since. Now she knew why. It wasn't solely because he was disappointed in her, but because he had chosen to support the one who needed it most.

Ania.

His granddaughter. He was her namesake, after all. Little Ania, the precious girl she had been so delighted to have. She had been so excited to have a baby girl…

Look at what she had become. A murderer and a Sith, just like her mother. How come Anakin had been unable to save her? How come he hadn't stopped her from killing her own father? Had he even tried? Or had he egged her on as Vader had egged her on?

How could she bear to live with herself? She had been so afraid that Ania would be doomed to replicate her fate that she had chosen instead to deny that she was even alive in spite of her father's words. In doing so, however, she had instead ensured that such a horrible fate would come to pass once more. She had failed, completely and utterly.

Ania had every right to hate her, and yet she did not. Ben's testament suggested as much. But why? Did Anakin not tell her what had really happened? Had he not told her that her mother would have preferred that she was dead? Of course he hadn't. Anakin would never say such a thing. But what about Han? How come she had been so willing to kill her father – who had spent the better part of two decades looking for her – yet claimed to adore her mother who had chosen to abandon her to her fate? Clearly Ania didn't know the full story. Clearly she didn't know that Leia was the one to blame and not Han.

So what should she do? Find her and tell her the truth? Offer to let her kill her? She deserved revenge, did she not? Leia deserved to atone for her great sin…

"_Don't be a fool, my dear._"

Leia inhaled sharply yet she kept her face planted on the pillow. She hadn't heard that voice in years upon years. It couldn't possibly be…

"_Well? Are you going to acknowledge me or not?_"

Slowly, Leia raised her head to come face to face with the impossible.

"_Ah, there you are,_" the blue-tinged form of Obi-Wan Kenobi said, his pale lips donning a wry smile. "_Skywalkers can be so stubborn sometimes._"

"How are you here?" Leia asked hoarsely. She hadn't seen the Jedi Master since that horrible night on Malachor when she had killed him in cold blood.

"_Your father is not the only one who learned to retain consciousness after death,_" Obi-Wan told her, the inclination of his tone evincing his indignation.

"B-but why… why haven't I seen you before now?" she asked, stammering.

"_You had no need of me until now,_" Obi-Wan said, his jocular attitude fading along with his smile.

"I would have wanted to see you," Leia insisted.

"_Whatever for?_" Obi-Wan asked.

"To apologize," Leia said at once. "Every day, I want to apologize to you."

"_You have nothing to apologize for,_" Obi-Wan said with a shake of his quasi-translucent head.

"Yes I do!" Leia demanded loudly. "I killed you!"

"_My death was necessary for your father to be reborn,_" Obi-Wan said practically. "_I failed him, Leia. By killing me, you were able to absolve me of my guilt. In my death, I helped bring about your father's redemption._" Leia swallowed hard and shook her head, refusing to condone this mindset. Obi-Wan snorted at her intransigence. "_Fine, feel guilty if you want. You seem to excel at that, after all._"

Leia narrowed her tear-stained eyes in indignation. "Why are you here?" she asked. "Just to jest at my misery?"

"_No,_" Obi-Wan said at once. "_I've come to give you advice._"

"Let me guess, you want me to find my daughter?"

"_Of course I do, Leia,_" Obi-Wan said. "_You need to do what your mother did for you._"

"But I can't," Leia protested. "I can't be what she needs me to be." Leia removed the pillow from her lap and threw it across the room when Obi-Wan tilted his head skeptically. "I failed her!" she bellowed. "It's my fault that she killed Han! It's my fault she was slave! It's all my fault!"

"_It is,_" Obi-Wan agreed, much to her surprise. "_And therefore it is also your responsibility._" Leia said nothing to this, her mouth hanging ajar as she stared back at the sagacious Jedi Master. "_You failed your daughter just like how I failed my Padawan,_" he said. "_I understand your pain. For eighteen years after Mustafar, I had nightmares of that night. The only way to relieve that pain – the only way to set things right – was to reverse the wrong that I had made._"

"But I can't do that," Leia whimpered. "I lost her, Master. There's nothing I can do to reverse that. I let her go."

"_You did,_" Obi-Wan said solemnly, his eyes closed as he bowed his head. "_And now you owe it to her to bring her back._"

* * *

"Ah, Ania. You have returned. I hope for your sake that you succeeded."

Genuflecting obsequiously before her master, Ania gritted her teeth angrily. "I did, Master," she intoned.

A silence ensued as Ania kept her eyes fixated on the ground. "Solo is dead?" her master finally asked.

"He is," Ania confirmed, her tone impassive in spite of the churning of her stomach.

"And Skywalker?"

Ania didn't answer him.

"You failed, didn't you?"

"No, Master," Ania insisted at once.

"She lives?"

"For now."

Her master inhaled deeply as he glowered down at her. "The assignment was to kill them both," he rumbled. "If Skywalker lives, that means you failed."

"I'm sorry, Master. I'm not strong enough to defeat her. You know that."

Her master growled. "Of course I know that, fool," he said, his voice rife with vitriol so unlike that of Solo's which had been full of compassion and sincerity. "Nobody is capable of besting her in combat. Vitrius is unconquerable."

"Then why would you assign me an impossible task?" she asked.

"I wanted you to use your wits, girl. There are other ways to defeat a foe."

"I know, Master."

"Then why did you fail me?" he asked ominously. She could practically feel his fingers unfurling, desperate to unleash the lightning upon her. Desperate to torture her like he had tortured her so many times before.

"I didn't, Master. I set a trap for her."

"A trap, you say?" he asked, surprised.

"She tracked me here. When she arrives, the Knights and I will kill her."

"Is that so?"

"Yes, Master."

Another tense silence followed these words and Ania finally looked up to see her master's decrepit face seated atop his throne.

"How foolish of you," he said with a snarl. "The Knights are needed elsewhere."

"Elsewhere?" Ania repeated, horrified. "But why?"

A flash of lightning erupted from his hands and engulfed her in a cocoon of anguish. Knocked off her feet, Ania writhed on her back for a few moments before the onslaught came to a merciful end.

"The Knights are mine to command, not yours," her master said. "If I say they are needed elsewhere, they are needed elsewhere. You will not question my authority, girl."

"I'm sorry, Master," she forced herself to say as she struggled to her knees. She couldn't wait until he was dead. She couldn't wait to get her revenge…

"You will fight her alone," he continued. "I will not assist you."

"But you said it yourself, I don't stand a chance!"

"Then you will die," her master said insouciantly.

Ania seethed at her tormentor silently for a moment. "You need me!" she yelled. "You won't just let me die!"

Her master laughed, the sound cacophonous and caustic to the extreme. "You are nothing, Ania. You are the pawn and I am the king. I do with you what I please."

Ania bit down on her tongue so as to prevent herself from hurling a retort. Nothing good could come from that, she told herself. He'd merely torture her more if she attempted to defend herself.

Because she was defenseless. In spite of her intrinsic power, her master was more powerful. He had trained her a bit, but not enough to be able to actually threaten him. Only one other could possibly defeat him, and soon she would be here. Soon her mother would come to save her, even if she didn't know it yet.

_Save me, Mother_, she pleaded through the Force. _Save me from this monster. _

"I won't let you down, Master," she claimed disingenuously.

"We will see," her master said. "We will see."

* * *

Ben was rustling through his mother's kitchen, looking for something to eat while he continued to contemplate the heap of information Luke and Padmé had shared with him. He felt decidedly dazed and light-headed as he stared sightlessly at the refrigerator, the chill on his face the only thing keeping him grounded.

The story of his mother was one of tragedy. He knew that now. When Ania had been feeding him information piecemeal, he hadn't truly understood that and he had been angry at his mother because of it. Now that he knew the full context, he couldn't feel anything but sorry for her.

"Ben."

Releasing the door to the fridge, Ben spun around to see his mother standing a few feet away at the entrance to the kitchen. His initial surprise quickly dissipated as he took in the despondent sight before him.

She looked incredibly small, smaller than he had ever seen her before. This was partially on account to the fact that she was wearing neither shoes nor socks, but Ben could also tell that her sense of pride and self-worth which had once inflated her had been grievously injured. She no longer stood up straight, her back hunched slightly as she held herself with her arms. On top of her diminutive stature, Ben was struck by how old she looked all of a sudden. Her deceptively-youthful visage had been washed away by tears and all that remained was a greyed and weary countenance.

In spite of that, Ben couldn't help but recognize how similar she looked to Ania. Luke was right to say that Ania had inherited her father's features but also her mother's eyes. The pronounced nose and high cheekbones couldn't belie the intrinsic similarities between mother and daughter.

Ben opened his mouth to speak, but he found that he had nothing of worth to say. Instead he took two long strides toward his mother and leaned down to hug her without saying anything. Appreciating the gesture, Leia tucked her face into his shoulder for a moment before pushing him away gently.

"Where's Luke?" she asked in a frail voice. "We need to talk."

Ben nodded and gave her a thin smile. Reaching out, he took her hand and gave it a soft squeeze before leading him back toward the living room where he had last left his uncle and grandmother. Upon arriving, Ben saw Luke standing in front of the window overlooking the patio, a contemplative expression on his face.

"Leia. Ben," he greeted without looking at them, his tone faint and distant.

"Where's Mom?" Leia asked quietly.

"Outside," Luke answered, gesturing out the window with his head. Ben stayed where he was as his mother walked over toward Luke. Coming to a stop next to him, she too looked out the window where they saw Padmé standing at the edge of the patio, her hands wrapped around the railing. The sun had completely dipped below the horizon now, and her figure was shrouded in darkness as a result, her outline illuminated by the flood of artificial light from the city above and below.

"We told him everything," he heard Luke tell Leia.

"Everything?" Leia asked.

"Everything," Luke repeated.

His mother sighed heavily and bowed her head. "How did she fare?" she asked.

"Well enough," Luke said as he turned away from the window. "She just needs a moment to be alone, I think. Talking about the past is hard for her."

"As it should be," Leia said as she too looked away from her mother to follow Luke with her eyes.

Luke walked a few more paces before pausing next to Ben. "Have you made up your mind?" he asked his sister. Leia nodded, her neck craned toward them as her body still faced the window. "And?" Luke prompted her.

"I will go," his mother said, closing her eyes as she lowered her head. "Alone."

"Alone?" Ben said, incredulous. "But –"

"I will not budge on this, Ben," Leia interrupted him. "I am the one who is responsible and therefore I will be the one to go. End of discussion."

Ben and Luke shared a nervous look. "It could be dangerous," Luke said.

"I'm sure it will be," Leia agreed. "That is why I will be going alone."

Luke and Ben stared back at Leia silently for a few moments as she returned her gaze toward the window. "What do you want me to do?" Luke asked finally.

"Take the girl to the Temple," Leia responded without hesitation. "We need to keep her hidden."

"What girl?" Ben asked. "You don't mean Rey, do you?" Neither Luke nor Leia responded to his inquiry. "What's so important about her?" Ben asked, interpreting their silence as confirmation that it was indeed Rey to whom they were referring.

"She's dangerous, Ben," Leia answered laconically. "That's all you need to know."

"I disagree," Ben said irritably. "Dad asked me to look after her, and I'm not going to let him down. I can't do that properly if I don't know everything, though."

His mother's eyes darted up and met his through the reflection in the window. "Why do you care so much about this girl?" she asked bluntly.

Ben raised his chin defiantly as he met his mother's gaze. "Rey is as much my sister as Ania is," he proclaimed proudly. "She's my father's daughter. You may not like it, but she's a part of this family."

"She is not!" Leia roared, spinning to face him directly. "That girl represents a threat to everything you hold dear, Ben," she said ominously, pointing a finger at him for emphasis.

"She's innocent," Ben countered defensively. "She couldn't possibly be a threat to anyone."

"You don't know what you're talking about," Leia said dismissively.

"Enlighten me, then," Ben challenged, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

His mother glanced at Luke for a moment before shaking her head. "Not now," she said definitively. "After this ordeal is over, maybe. But now is not the time"

Ben bit his tongue angrily and looked away. More secrets, huh? Why was it that she didn't trust him? Why did they all have to treat him like he was still a child who couldn't handle the truth?

"I'll leave first thing tomorrow," Leia said, oblivious or otherwise indifferent toward his vexation. "Ben, I suggest you stay here with your grandmother."

"What? No way!" Ben exclaimed. "I can't just do nothing!"

"What would you rather do?" Leia asked, eyebrow quirked.

Ben hesitated, not sure if he had an answer to this question. "At least let me go with Rey," he said eventually. "She's going to need me now more than ever."

Leia looked as if she wanted to object with this, but fortunately she did not. "Fine," she said stiffly. "Luke you might as well take Mom with you then. I don't think it's a good idea to leave her alone."

"I agree," Luke said readily, sparing another glance out the window toward his mother who was still standing vigil on the patio. "We'll leave tomorrow as well." He paused, his lips pursed as an uncomfortable expression passed his face. "What should we do with… with Han?" he asked.

Leia and Ben both winced simultaneously. Ben hadn't known what had happened to his father's body after… after it had happened. He had been too hysterical to remember much of anything.

"We'll have a proper send off when I get the Falcon back," his mother said, her voice thick with emotion. "It was the only home he ever knew."

Luke nodded solemnly. "That's a good idea," he told her. "I'll tell Chewie tomorrow when I see him."

His mother's face scrunched up for a moment as she bit down on her lower lip. "It's settled then," she managed to say finally. She hesitated a moment longer – looking supremely lost in her own living room – before wiping her eyes and turning away from them.

"Would you like us to leave?" Luke asked gently.

Leia nodded. "Yes," she said with characteristic brusqueness. "Take Ben with you. I want to talk with Mom."

"Very well," Luke said. "Come on, Ben," he mumbled to him. "Let's give her some space."

Ben spared one last look toward his mother before begrudgingly acquiescing to her wish. He didn't want to leave her, but he understood why she wanted to be alone. She had always been an introverted person, and her proclivity to isolation was enhanced all the more during her episodes. Therefore as much as he wanted to stay – for his sake as much as for her own – he could respect her wish.

"Goodnight, Mom," he said therefore, his voice sounding especially small. "I love you," he added, having not said this since he was six years old.

His mother inhaled sharply, clearly not having expected this. "Goodnight, Ben," she said without reciprocating the sentiment.

But that was okay with him. He knew why it was so difficult for her to say it. All that mattered was that he knew that she did love him. She may be too damaged to be able to express it, but he knew that it was true, regardless.

And that was something he hadn't ever known for sure until now.

* * *

"Hey Mom."

Her mother glanced around to see her standing behind her, a scratchy woolen shawl wrapped around her shoulders to fend off the early night chill.

"Aren't you cold?" she asked her.

"What this? This is nothing," Padmé said with a feeble chuckle. "Remember Hoth? I thought my eyes would freeze it was so cold there."

Leia nodded absently as she walked over to stand next to her mother. Grasping the railing with both hands, Leia flexed her fingers for a few moments before turning to look at her. "How did you do it?" she asked.

"Do what, dear?"

"You know what."

Padmé frowned as she looked away back toward the skyline. She had no doubt known that this conversation was coming. After all, Padmé was the only person who had shared Leia's experience of losing a husband. "I don't have any special wisdom to share with you, Leia," she confessed. "All I can do is support you."

"Then you must be a better person than I am, then," Leia said resignedly.

"What makes you say that?"

"I'm a husk, Mom," she lamented, sagging her head and resting her forehead against the cool metal railing. "I hate myself so much that I can't even tell my son that I love him. You never had that problem. You never had any difficulty being my mother even when I was a monster."

Padmé placed her hand atop Leia's head and ran her fingers tenderly through her hair. "You're in grief," she told her. "You just watched your husband die. You can't be telling yourself these things right now."

"It's not because of Han," Leia protested, her voice muted as she spoke to the floor. "It's because of me. I'm incapable of love. Sidious beat it out of me."

"You can't possibly believe that, Leia."

"Can't I?" Leia asked, raising her head abruptly to meet her mother's solicitous gaze. "I let my husband and daughter slip away and I failed my son. How can I not think that I'm anything but a failure?"

Padmé contemplated her daughter silently for a few moments, her brow furrowed and her forehead creased with sorrow. Gently, she reached out and cupped Leia's cheek, her thumb brushing against her skin with the utmost love and care.

"You are capable of love, my dear," she crooned, her mother's dulcet voice caressing her in tandem with the warmth of her hand. "More so than anyone I know, you are capable. But you are also profoundly wounded. The fact that you are able to love at all, irrespective of how limited it may be, is testament to the strength of your character, not its weakness." Leia closed her eyes and leaned into her mother's hand, relishing the warmth of her touch in the frigid nighttime air. "You are strong, my child. Your will is forged by both the horrors of your past and the fortitude of your character. No matter how much you doubt yourself, know that I will forever be proud of you."

A single tear cascaded down Leia's cheek, only to be brushed away by her mother's thumb. Opening her eyes, Leia's lips quivered slightly as she gave her mother a watery smile. "Thank you, Mom," she said, her voice little more than a whisper. "I love you."

Padmé reciprocated her daughter's sad smile as she retracted her hand. "I know you do," she said softly. "I know."


	10. Leaving Home

Chapter 10 – Leaving Home

Luke woke him up early that next morning, so early that Ben barely felt as if he was awake at all. His uncle impatiently whisked him along as he performed his morning routine in a groggy daze. Satisfied that Ben was presentable, Luke all but shoved him out the front door and deposited him in the passenger seat of his speeder.

"Good morning, Master Skywalker," a voice from the backseat said with far greater cheer than Ben thought appropriate considering the earliness of the hour.

"A5, what are you doing here?" Ben asked his droid.

"I thought I'd bring him along," Luke answered as he got into the driver's seat. "I know from experience, it's always convenient to have a protocol droid around."

Ben nodded in agreement as Luke took off and drove away – the early morning chill serving to wake him up somewhat. Uncle and nephew said nothing more to one other as they zipped along the uncharacteristically barren air lanes toward the hotel complex where Rey was staying with Qi'ra and Chewbacca. As Ben had learned last night, Han hadn't been planning on staying on Chandrila for long, but Luke had insisted, paying for their accommodations out of his own pocket. No doubt he had hoped that Han could be able to reach a détente with his estranged family as long he was here on the capital. It was too bad that such an eventuality could no longer come to pass.

Ben's perception of his father had been radically changed now that he was gone. It was a terrible shame that Ben would never been able to rekindle his relationship with his father now that he knew that he hadn't chosen to abandon him and his mother. It was that realization that made it difficult for Ben to forgive Ania for what she had done, regardless of what Luke said.

Why had she done it? Had she not known the full story either? Had she too been operating under the misconception that Han had chosen to abandon his family? If so, who had told her that?

Ben's depressing musings were cut short when he felt the speeder decelerate as Luke pulled up next to the hotel complex. Cutting the engine, Luke alighted from the speeder with characteristic Jedi grace which seemed to defy age. Ben, meanwhile, took his time getting out of the speeder as he struggled to force his sleepy, cumbersome body into compliance.

"A5, stay with the speeder," he ordered his droid as he shut the side door closed.

"Yes, sir," A5 said with an obedient bob of his domed head.

Trudging after his uncle toward the lobby of the hotel, Ben lagged behind a bit and did his best to obscure his face as Luke led the way to the elevator. He'd rather nobody recognized him or his uncle at any point this morning. The both of them were extremely famous, after all, considering the fact that Luke was the Grand Master of the Jedi Order and the brother of Leia Skywalker herself while Ben was her son and a well-known senator in his own right.

Luckily, nobody payed them any mind and they made it to the elevator without incident. Perhaps it was far too early for anyone to spare them much thought, which suited Ben nicely. Leaning against the metal wall of the elevator, Ben closed his eyes for a few moments as they began ascending toward the floor in question. His brief reprieve was rudely interrupted when Luke jabbed him in the ribs with his elbow.

"Hey!" Ben exclaimed.

"We're here," Luke said gruffly. "Wake up."

Ben considered insisting that he was fully awake, but he realized there was little point in lying to a Jedi Master about such a trivial thing. Instead, he shook his head a few times and followed after his uncle out of the elevator. They proceeded a few yards before Luke came to a stop and knocked on a door. A moment later, a circular flap in the door opened up and a mechanical arm emerged.

"_Key card please,_" the sensor at the end said in a monotone voice.

Luke reached into his pocket and produced a small chip which he presented to the sensor. A red light scanned the chip and the arm retracted expeditiously. The door slid open immediately thereafter, permitting them entry.

"Hello?" Luke called in as he took a step into the room. Looking over his uncle's head, Ben saw a woman emerge from the end of the hallway.

"Welcome, Luke," Qi'ra greeted woodenly. Ben narrowed his eyes as he contemplated Qi'ra. She looked much like how his mother had last night – tired, grey, and sullen. The dark rings around her eyes and the frazzled state of her previously well-coiffed hair indicated that she too had been devastated by his father's death. "Your mother arrived a few minutes ago," Qi'ra said as he and Luke followed after her down the hallway.

"Did Leia leave yet?" Luke asked.

"She didn't stop by," Qi'ra mumbled. "Didn't want to see me, I'd wager."

Luke nodded as they arrived in a small, drab common area. Seated on the couch pressed against the back wall was Padmé, her countenance similarly weary and woebegone as Qi'ra's. When they arrived, Padmé looked up and offered them a weak smile.

"Morning, boys," she greeted.

"Where's Rey?" Ben asked her.

"We were hoping to talk to you about that," Qi'ra said, causing Ben to swivel his head back toward her. "She locked herself in her room and hasn't come out since… since it happened," she said, her voice catching in her throat. "I was hoping you could talk to her," she managed to say after recomposing herself.

Ben nodded somberly. "Where is her room?" he asked.

Qi'ra gave him instructions and Ben took off without any further delay. He could feel Luke's eyes on the back of his head as he retreated. He and Leia did not approve of his relationship with Rey, of this he was certain. They insisted that she was dangerous. Ben didn't give a damn what they thought, however. Now that Han was gone, Ben wasn't going to let Rey down. He meant what he had said: Rey was as much his sister as Ania was. Perhaps more so, even.

"Rey?" he called out upon knocking on her door. "It's Ben. Can I talk to you?"

He received no response.

"Rey, come on," he said, pressing his forehead against the door. "Please let me in."

Silence followed these words for a few more moments until…

"Okay," a tiny voice said from the other side of the door. Smiling in relief, Ben propped himself back upright just in time as the door slid open. Taking a step in, his eyes gravitated toward the opposite window where he saw something glinting in the early morning sunlight.

Rested atop the window sill was a pair of golden dice. Ben stared at them incredulously for a moment, a long-forgotten memory of him playing with these very dice flashing before his eyes.

_Hey, kid, be careful with those, _his father's gruff voice had told him.

Clenching his jaw and stowing away his emotions, But turned away from the dice and toward the bed where he saw Rey curled up with her face pressed against a pillow. Her back was facing him and she gave no indication that she knew he was here. But if she was here, how had she managed to open the door…?

Disregarding this question, Ben took a cautious step forward and sat down at the edge of the bed. Placing his hand on the synthetic material of the blanket, he was silent for a few moments as he considered what to say.

"I, uh… I wasn't ever really close with my dad," he said finally, deciding to speak his mind without a plan rather than articulating some sort of well-formulated speech which A5 was so adept at drafting for him. "He left when I was six and I never really forgave him for that." Ben swallowed hard and bowed his head for a moment. "When I got older, I came to hate him, actually. I was convinced that he… that he didn't care about me."

"He did."

Ben looked around at Rey who had spoken directly into the pillow, her already-soft voice muted even more so because of that.

"You think so?" he asked her.

Rey didn't respond for a moment, yet Ben remained patient. Finally, she straightened out her legs and lifted her head from the pillow. Pressing her back against the headrest, she pulled her knees into her chest and wrapped her arms around them. Rocking back and forth slightly, she looked up to meet his gaze. Her eyes were red and puffy and her forehead was dotted with little red imprints where he guessed she had dug her fingernails while crying.

"He likes… he liked telling me about you," she said, wincing when she corrected her tense. "He was very proud when he heard you became a senator."

Ben nodded and looked away, a lump forming in his throat when he remembered seeing a holomessage from his father in his inbox when he had first moved into his senatorial office three years ago. He had contemplated opening that message for a long time before deciding not to and deleting it instead. How he wished he hadn't done that now…

"He really wanted me to meet you," Rey continued, her voice hoarse from lack of use. "He always wanted me to have you as a brother."

Wiping away the unshed tears from his eyes, Ben turned back to Rey and gave her a sad smile. Without knowing what he was doing, Ben tentatively reached out with his hand and placed it gently on Rey's knee. "You have me now," he said softly. "For better or for worse, I'm your brother now, Rey."

Rey's mouth twitched yet she didn't fully reciprocate his smile. Suddenly, she got up onto her knees and wrapped her arms around him. Caught entirely by surprise, Ben stiffened for a moment before relaxing. Patting her on the back, Ben felt a wet sensation when Rey placed her tear-stricken face against his neck.

"I like having you as my big brother, Ben," she said in a muffled voice. Ben smiled wanly as he moved his hand up to stroke his little sister's hair lovingly much like how his grandmother used to do with him. After a minute, Rey pulled away from him with a sniffle.

"My uncle and I are going to take you to his Jedi Temple," Ben told her. "You'll be safe there."

Rey tilted her head at this comment. "Why wouldn't I be safe?" she asked.

Ben hesitated, not knowing the answer to this question himself. "I don't know," he decided to say honestly. "It's what my mother wants."

Rey frowned for a moment before nodding. "Okay," she said before swinging her legs off the side of the bed.

"Do you need to pack?" Ben asked, getting to his feet.

"I guess," Rey said heavily. "I don't have much."

"Do you need help?" he asked. Rey shook her head.

"I'll be out in a minute," she said.

Ben nodded as he looked down at Rey who was still seated on the bed, looking supremely small from this angle. Once more, he found himself acting without thinking. Leaning down, he kissed the top of Rey's head softly, his lips merely grazing her hair before he stood back upright.

"I'll be outside," he said in a husky voice.

"Bye, Ben," Rey said, evidently unfazed by his brazen display of affection.

"Bye, Rey," he said in kind.

* * *

Upon closing the door to Rey's room behind him, Ben made his way back to the common room where he found Padmé and Luke talking with Qi'ra.

"You sure you don't want to come?" his grandmother asked the younger woman.

Qi'ra shook her head before looking up to see Ben standing in the doorway. "Did you talk to her?" she asked him.

Ben nodded as he walked over to stand opposite his uncle who was seated atop the armrest of the couch. "She's going to be okay," he said, taking a deep breath as he spoke. "She's packing now. We should be ready to leave soon."

Qi'ra clasped her hands together and exhaled slowly. "I'm glad," she said in a hollow voice. "It's a good thing she has you, Ben."

"And what about you?" Ben asked, recalling Rey's comments about her a two days prior. "Does she not have you as well?"

Qi'ra winced and looked away toward Luke and Padmé. "She was Han's daughter, not mine," she said.

"How can that be?" Ben asked, his tone judgmental. "You were his girlfriend, were you not?"

Once again, Qi'ra shook her head and turned her eyes to the floor. "I wasn't his girlfriend," she said. "Not really."

Ben arched an eyebrow as he leaned against the wall. "Rey seems to think that you were," he said. "And so did my father, for that matter."

"He just called me that because he didn't know how else to explain," Qi'ra said, finally looking back up to meet his inquisitive gaze. "I was less a partner than I was a sponsor."

Bemused, Ben narrowed his eyes and tilted his head. "A sponsor?" he repeated. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Han was many things, but affluent was never one of them," Qi'ra said, her lip curling into a smile as a distant look passed her eyes. "He cared about money, yes, but deep down I always knew his heart was too big to pursue it as… viciously as I did." Qi'ra paused and Ben remained silent, waiting for her to resume. "After he split with Leia, he came to find me," she said. "I barely recognized him, and not just because of how much older he was. He had a different look in his eyes as he did when we were young."

"Different how?" Ben asked.

"He was devastated," Qi'ra said, her glazed eyes finally refocusing as she looked back at him. "Han loved you and Leia so much that it absolutely destroyed him to lose you both."

Ben exhaled loudly and craned his head toward the ceiling, the guilt for having unfairly hated his father for his entire adult life washing over him like a wave. He was submerged in guilt, unable to breathe as he remembered how virulently he had despised the man without hardly knowing him…

"He asked for my help to find something," Qi'ra continued. "He didn't tell me what, but I knew it was hugely important to him. I had worked my way out of the criminal world by then and I had plenty of resources with which I could help him, so I accepted. I provided the funds while Han and Chewie searched. Only occasionally did I join him on his pursuits. After ten years, I became convinced that whatever it was Han was trying to find did not exist, but never did I tell him this. I could tell that the only thing keeping him afloat was the search, so I supported him in spite of my doubts.

Three years ago he finally thought he had found whatever he was looking for. When he contacted me, I knew it was big. He sounded so excited. I hadn't heard him sound so happy since both of us were children on Corellia. He told me to meet him on Jakku as soon as possible. When I arrived, I was beyond surprised to learn that what he had found wasn't treasure or spice like I had expected, but a girl."

"Rey," Ben said.

Qi'ra glanced down the hallway to where Rey's room was before continuing her story. "Only then did he tell me that he had been searching for his long-lost daughter who was supposedly stolen from him and Leia at birth. One look at Rey and I knew Han had found the wrong girl, however. She was far too young, being no older than nine or ten at the time."

"Then why did he think it was her?" Ben asked.

"Because her midichlorian count was off the scale," Luke answered, inserting himself back into the conversation.

"Her midi-what now?"

Luke chucked. "A midichlorian level grants us an indication into one's natural Force-sensitivity," he explained. "Han knew that his daughter would have an exceptionally high level considering that her mother was Leia. I suspect this was the only tool he had at his disposal to find Ania."

"But why does Rey have such a high… level?" he asked, deciding it wise not to attempt at pronouncing the unfamiliar term.

Luke and Padmé looked at each other, the discomfort at this question evident on their faces. They were saved from having to answer this question – or deflect it as he suspected they were intending to do – when Rey suddenly emerged from the hallway, an overflowing backpack strapped to her back. Perhaps sensing the tension in the room, Rey stopped abruptly and looked up at Ben to whom she evidently felt most comfortable speaking.

"I'm ready to go," she said, pulling on the straps of her backpack for emphasis.

Ben smiled at her in spite of his irritation that his question had once more gone unanswered. "Great," he said, summoning up an inkling of enthusiasm for Rey's sake. "Let's get going."

* * *

Upon dropping her mother off at the hotel complex at the opposite end of the city, Leia made her way to the headquarters for the New Republic's Armed Forces. The NRAF building which was quite near the Senate building was a sleek pyramidal structure which reflected sunlight in every which direction, making it rather difficult to look at head on. It had recently come to her attention that the younger members of the military had taken to calling the building 'Skywalker's Pyramid' in honor of herself. Such a distinction irked Leia more so than it flattered her. Her celebrity status had become so great that the contributions of other military leaders to the war effort – Ackbar and Dodonna most especially – had been more or less forgotten by the generation which hadn't been alive during the Empire. Both of those men deserved just as much praise as she did.

Leia wasn't thinking about this, however, when she parked her speeder and took off marching down toward the entrance. People peeled away from her as she walked on, the crowds parting as the younger recruits all stopped what they were doing to stare. In her more cynical moments, Leia dreaded the prospect of another war with these younglings as the core of her army. They were nothing like the hardened troopers of the Rebel Alliance. They were infatuated with nugatory concepts like celebrity or glory and had no appreciation for the brutality of war. In short, they were green in every sense of the word.

"General Skywalker, good morning."

Leia glanced to her left to see a familiar face walking stride for stride with her.

"Good morning, Dune," she said with a curt nod to her subordinate. Leia liked Dune. She was a veteran from the Rebellion, having been a member of a highly esteemed shock trooper unit. Nowadays, Dune served as Leia's chief of staff, an important role which she fulfilled with exceptional aptitude and efficiency.

"Is there anything I can do for you, General?" Dune asked as she asked every morning. Typically Leia would answer no to this question, but today she did in fact have a need of Dune's services.

"Yes," Leia said therefore. "I need you to get me an X-wing, ASAP." If Dune was surprised by this strange request, she didn't express it – her phlegmatic, battle-hardened exterior revealing nothing as always.

"Yes, ma'am," Dune said obediently. That was another thing Leia liked about Dune: she didn't ask questions unless they were absolutely necessary. "I'm sure we can commandeer one from the hangars."

"Lead the way," Leia said.

Upon arriving at the hangar for the 2nd Republican Fleet, Dune proved herself to be ruthlessly efficient once again. Leia merely watched with an appreciative smirk as her chief of staff browbeat a corporal for having the audacity to suggest that he didn't have an X-wings available to loan her. Mere minutes later, Leia was being fitted with a flight helmet and being directed toward a T-90 class X-wing.

"No flight suit, ma'am?" Dune asked her as she was about to climb the latter into the cockpit.

"No flight suit," she confirmed. She was instead wearing a pair of black Jedi robes which she hadn't donned in years. The attire was as much for intimidation as it was for practicable purposes. Whomever had stolen her daughter from her would soon learn that not only was Jedi Master Leia Skywalker coming for them, but Darth Vitrius as well. Leia would not be pulling any punches.

Hopping into the cockpit, she lowered the blast shield on her flight helmet and began the ignition sequence. She hadn't flown an X-wing in what seemed like decades, but it felt just as natural to her as driving her speeder was. She truly was her father's daughter: flying was in her blood.

She was about to flick the last switch to fire up the engines when she hesitated. Looking down at Dune, she pushed the blast shield up to deliver a message. "Dune, I want you to do something for me if I don't come back," she said, delivering this ominous request flatly and without emotion.

Dune's eyebrows twitched in a barely perceptible expression of surprise. "Yes, ma'am?" she said, once again without question.

Leia stared down at her chief of staff silently for a few moments. Finally, she spoke. "Tell my son that I love him."

With that, Leia lowered the blast shield once more and sealed herself in the cockpit with a press of a button. Exhaling loudly, Leia flicked the switch igniting the engines which roared to life, the vibration of the vessel sending chills of anticipation up her spine.

She was on her way to find her daughter.

She could only hope that she would succeed.


	11. Stronger than Blood

Chapter 11 – Stronger than Blood

Plugging the homing beacon Luke had given her into her X-wing's navigational computer, Leia allowed the autopilot to perform the calculations for the jump to hyperspace. According to the beacon, Ania had taken the Falcon deep into the outer reaches of the galaxy. She was so far off the grid that the maps at her disposal were nothing but conjecture. In truth, Leia had no idea where it was she was going.

The trip was quite short, however, on account to the exceptional hyperdrive generator the T-90 X-wings were equipped with. The modern vessels at the New Republic's disposal were top of the line – starkly in contrast to the obsolete and rusted crafts she had commanded during the war against the Empire. Technology did not comfort her, however. Her most important tool was not a star destroyer or an ion canon or even a lightsaber. Her greatest ally was the Force, and a powerful ally it was, as the late, great Master Yoda had once told her.

What would Sidious think of her now? He had tried so hard to corrupt her like he had corrupted Vader, and yet he had failed. She was a Jedi, like her father before her. Whoever it was who had stolen her daughter from her would fail as well. Leia knew that her daughter would be strong like she had been. Her daughter would resist the dark side like her mother had.

For she could sense Ania now. The moment she dropped out of hyperspace, Leia was greeted by a presence so familiar yet so foreign at the same time. It was her. It was her child. And she was beckoning her with the utmost desperation.

_Save me, Mother. Save me from this monster. _

Leia stared ahead blankly as she contemplated the echo of her daughter's voice. Ania had wanted her to follow her. She wanted her to rescue her. It seemed too good to be true, and because of that Leia was suspicious. There had to be some kind of a trap involved. She was too experienced not to anticipate this. Therefore as she disregarded the homing beacon and steered her ship in the direction of her daughter's Force-presence, Leia forced herself to exercise caution. She wanted nothing more than to push the throttle of her X-wing and find her daughter as soon as possible, but she knew that she ought to reconnoiter her surroundings first. Where even was she?

Leia had no idea. She seemed to be drifting in a sparse, frigid asteroid field. There were no planets or stars within her immediate vicinity. It was entirely possible that she wasn't even in a star system at all and was simply in empty space. Scanning her navcom, Leia detected a large object a few hundred miles away from her. What could it be?

Leia carefully navigated the asteroid field as she made her way toward this mysterious object. Swerving around the floating chunks of ice and rock, Leia soon began to feel a bit nauseous. In her younger days, she wouldn't have had a problem with all this spinning, but Leia wasn't so young anymore.

Her queasiness finally began to abate once she left the asteroid field behind her and the object in question came into view. It was a massive ship, ten times larger than any vessel in the New Republic's fleet. Shrouded by gas and debris, Leia nevertheless recognized it the moment she laid her eyes on the pointed tip of the super star destroyer. How could she not? She'd know that ship anywhere.

The_ Eclipse._

The Emperor's flagship and the vessel which Leia had called home for the better part of her childhood. It was on this ship where she had been imprisoned, trained, and tortured by Sidious. It was on this ship where Darth Vitrius had been created.

* * *

Rey had curled up on the bench in the main hold of his grandmother's old Nubian starship. The J-type 327 was obsolete by several decades, but they didn't have another ship to take since Ania had stolen the Millenium Falcon. Ben didn't mind, however. He had many fond memories of this particular ship, having accompanied his grandmother on numerous trips across the galaxy in it after she had retired from politics.

Ben was standing with his back to the technical station as he watched Rey sleep. She had been shivering slightly so he had taken off his cloak and given it to her as a blanket. As a consequence, however, Ben was beginning to feel a bit chilly as he only had a thin tunic on underneath. Not wanting to wake Rey, Ben pushed himself away from the technical station as quietly as he could and began pacing.

With each step, Ben felt a soft tap against his leg. Looking down, he saw his mother's lightsaber bouncing cheerily at his side, the sleek hilt clipped to his belt as if it were the most natural thing in the galaxy. Contemplating the weapon for a moment, Ben reached down and unclipped it from his belt. Raising it up, he rotated the hilt in his hands, absorbing every detail of the infamous blade. So this had been the blade which had killed Darth Sidious himself. It was with this blade that his mother had changed history. Yet she had also undeniably used it to commit evil acts as well, killing Kenobi chief among them…

"I never thought I'd see that blade again."

Startled, Ben instinctively hid the lightsaber behind his back as he turned toward the voice. It was Luke, having emerged from the elevator soundlessly. As his uncle took a step into the chilly room, the elevator door closed behind him with a soft hiss. Luke's eyes were narrowed slightly as he scrutinized his nephew's countenance with somewhat unnerving fascination.

"I've jumped the ship into hyperspace," Luke told him, his eyes finally deviating away from his face as he glanced over at Rey. "We should reach Yavin in ten hours or so," he added, speaking softly once he saw her sleeping. "I've left A5 in the cockpit for now."

Ben nodded as he awkwardly attempted to reattach his mother's lightsaber to his belt behind his back. Luke stopped him, however.

"May I see it?" he asked.

Ben narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Depends," he said. "Will I get it back?"

Luke quirked an eyebrow at this comment. "Why would you want it back?" he asked, dismissing his question with another question as the Jedi were so adept at doing.

Ben tightened his grip on the lightsaber behind his back. "It's mine," he said, his voice sounding petulant even to his own ears.

Luke contemplated his defensive posture for a moment. "You'd like to receive training, wouldn't you?" he asked.

Ben blinked in surprise. "I… I, uh –"

"You don't need to lie, Ben," Luke interrupted. "I've known ever since you were a kid that you wanted to be trained." Ben clenched his jaw and looked away. The subject of his training – or lack thereof – had always been a sore subject for him. "You know I wanted to train you, but your mother wouldn't allow it."

Ben nodded as he slackened his grip on his mother's lightsaber a fraction. "Yeah, I know," he mumbled.

"You understand now why she had reservations, don't you?" Luke asked him. "As confident as she is, she's also tremendously afraid of her own powers."

"Well she shouldn't be," Ben insisted. "It's not her fault she was a Sith. It was Sidious who forced her to become one. If it weren't for him –"

"She has agency, Ben," Luke said, cutting Ben's impassioned defense of his mother short. "Sidious didn't make her kill Obi-Wan. Nor did he force her to turn her lightsaber on her father. Leia did those things entirely on her own volition." Ben faltered at this, wanting to contradict Luke but not knowing how. "It's okay, Ben," Luke said, taking a step toward him and placing a hand on his shoulder. "I'm not saying Leia is a bad person. I'm just trying to explain why she was so afraid of you receiving training."

"She thinks I'd turn to the dark side," Ben said, unable to keep the hurt out of his voice.

"No," Luke said with a shake of his head. "She doesn't think it. She just fears it, that's all. With Sidious defeated and peace restored to the galaxy, she felt there was no need to take the risk."

"There is no risk," Ben said, his face taut with bitterness. He took a step away from his uncle, causing Luke's hand to slide off his shoulder. "I wouldn't turn to the dark side," he insisted.

"I don't doubt it," Luke agreed.

"Then prove it," Ben said, shaking his mother's lightsaber for emphasis. "Train me."

"I can't," Luke said at once.

"Why not?"

"I cannot train you without your mother's consent," he said.

"Why not?" Ben asked again, vexed by Luke's demurral. "You're the Grand Master, not her! I'm an adult! You don't need my parent's approval."

"I will not defy my sister's wishes," Luke said stiffly. He clearly had taken offense to Ben's insinuation of his passivity. Luke looked as if he had more to say, but he stopped himself when he heard Rey begin to stir behind Ben. Turning around, Ben saw Rey rubbing her eyes as she sat upright, his cloak still wrapped tightly around her shoulders.

"What are you arguing about?" she asked, blinking a few times as she looked up at him with those wide, brown eyes.

"Nothing," Ben lied at once. "Did we wake you?" he asked.

Rey nodded. "You're angry," she commented. "I can feel it." Ben glanced at Luke, surprised by her insight. "Why are you angry?" she asked.

Ben floundered for a few moments as he thought of what to say. Fortunately, he was saved from having to answer when Luke interjected. "You can feel it?" he asked, taking a step around Ben and toward Rey who was now sitting cross-legged on the bench. At once, Ben turned to follow his uncle, a surge of protectiveness toward his little sister burgeoning within him.

Rey bobbed her head, shrinking away from Luke as he took another step closer, his shadow looming over the table in front of her. Seeking to defuse the tense situation, Ben stepped forward and placed a preventative hand on his uncle's chest.

"You're scaring her," he murmured to Luke.

Ignoring him, Luke continued to peer down at Rey. "What do you know about the Force, Rey?" he asked her.

Rey swallowed nervously and glanced at Ben for support. "What are you getting at, Luke?" Ben asked, frowning as he crossed his arms. He didn't appreciate how Luke and Leia had been treating Rey up to this point.

"Answer the question, Rey," Luke demanded, once again ignoring Ben.

Rey's eyes darted back to Luke before looking down toward her lap. "It's a power that Jedi have," she mumbled, her voice barely audible over the soft hum of the engines.

"And?" Luke prodded.

Rey hesitated as she glanced back up at Luke reluctantly. "It… it lets them control people and make things… float," she said haltingly.

Luke's mouth twitched in amusement. "Not quite," he said. Aggrieved on Rey's behalf, Ben opened his mouth to object to Luke's behavior when he cut him off. "The Force is not a power you have," he said, placing his hands behind his back as he began to lecture. "It's not about lifting rocks. It's the energy between all living things, the tension, the balance that binds the universe together."

Rey nodded slowly as she absorbed this information. "Okay, but… what is it?" she asked, prompting Luke to chuckle.

"Ben, why don't you take a seat," he suggested to him.

"But –"

"Just do it," Luke said, rolling his eyes in exasperation.

Ben hesitated a moment longer before acquiescing to his uncle's demand. Walking around the table, Ben scooted up next to his little sister. The two of them looked up at Luke, waiting for him to continue. Luke remained silent for a long while, however, his eyes oscillating between them as he contemplated them both.

"The Force is the fundamental medium through which the entire universe operates," he resumed finally. "There are rare few such as yourselves who are naturally gifted with the ability to access the Force, but that doesn't mean it doesn't affect everyone else. It is the bonds and dichotomies of the Force which give the galaxy meaning." He paused, tilting his head as he continued to stare back at them intently. "The bond you share is uncommonly strong," he commented finally, more so to himself than to either of them. "You are…intertwined."

"Of course we are," Ben said curtly. "We're siblings."

"Not in the conventional sense," Luke countered.

"So?"

"Your bond with Ania makes sense because you share the same blood," Luke mused, scratching his chin pensively. "But you and Rey –"

"Some things are stronger than blood," Ben interrupted brusquely.

Luke fell silent as his eyes darted back to Rey. "One can certainly hope so," he said quietly. Without expanding upon this perplexing statement, Luke spun around abruptly and marched toward the elevator, leaving a bemused Ben and Rey in his wake.

* * *

Leia's blue lightsaber hummed at her side as she traversed the empty halls of the _Eclipse. _Upon landing her X-wing in the hangar, Leia had exited her vessel to find the massive dreadnought entirely devoid of life. The halls were dark, emergency red lights which pulsated on and off serving as the sole source of light beside that of her lightsaber.

Her face was therefore irradiated with a crimson red hue as she took turn after turn, proceeding with the utmost caution through the maze. Every now and then she would stop when she recognized a familiar room or hallway…

_Leave me alone! _

Leia eyes widened as she spun around to see the child version of herself barreling toward her. The younger Leia's eyes were shining with tears and the left side of her face was covered in bruises. The ghost rushed passed her without acknowledging her, and Leia turned to follow.

_Stop her! Stop that girl! _

_Stay away from me!_

She had reached the bridge of the ship, the child version of herself backing away toward the massive window behind her, hands raised defensively.

_Don't touch me! _

Although she couldn't see their ghosts, Leia could remember the imperial officers approaching her cautiously with tasers at the ready.

_I said stay away from me!_

Leia had raised her hands, pure terror prompting her into action…

Electricity had crackled forth from her finger tips, the blast hitting the closest officer directly in the face. She had been terrified, unable to stop herself despite desperately wanting to.

_You have done well, my child. _

"No, no, no!" Leia said out loud, her stentorian voice echoing in the massive room.

A charred body was at her feet, the face melted away and entirely unrecognizable. The ghost of her former self stared down with wide, petrified eyes. She had done that? She couldn't have…

_Your hatred empowers you. _

"No! No!" she screamed until her throat turned raw.

_In time you will learn how to control your anger. _

"Get out! Get out of my fucking head!" she shrieked, dragging her fingernails down her face in agony.

_You will make a powerful Sith, young Vitrius. A powerful Sith._

"No!"

Leia was on the her hands and knees, her back heaving as she gulped in breaths of frigid air. The ghosts of herself and Sidious were gone, but her suffering was anything but. She hadn't thought about that incident in decades, having stowed it away deep in her memory.

Leia picked up her discarded lightsaber as she got to her feet shakily. She couldn't be doing this. Being on the _Eclipse _had summoned up horrible memories, but she couldn't let them get the better of her. Her daughter needed her. She could sense her still, pleading for her to rescue her…

She continued on, shivering furiously now as she plodded down the hallways. Letting her intuition guide her, Leia shut her eyes tightly so as to prevent herself from being barraged by any further memories. Besides, she didn't need her eyes to know where to go on this ship. She knew exactly where to go.

The throne room.

To Sidious' room.

On and on she trekked, the desperate call of her daughter's Force-presence beckoning her forward. The _Eclipse _was an enormous ship, however. It felt like she had traveled miles, although in reality it probably hadn't been that far. The ghosts of her past made the journey far more arduous than it would have been otherwise.

Leia finally opened her eyes when she felt that she was no longer alone. Holding her lightsaber up high, Leia saw some figures watching her from the shadows. The fluctuating red light in the hallway didn't illuminate her surroundings enough to identify who they were. Feeling deeply anxious all of a sudden, Leia clenched her jaw and proceeded onward. She could feel the mysterious figures coalescing behind her, escorting her as she marched toward the throne room. She felt very much like a prisoner walking toward her execution.

A dull light on the horizon gave Leia the drive to continue. As she approached, the shadows around her began to recede as the light irradiated the corridor. She could see the throne room now. It was a spacious, oval-shaped room. As its name suggested, a grand throne dominated the center of the room. It was in this room where Sidious had both trained and tortured her. It was in this room where she had been irreparably scarred.

Crossing the plane into the throne room, Leia's eyes gravitated toward the throne where a gold-robed man was seated. Despite being seated, Leia could tell that he was a gargantuan individual – well over seven feet tall, she reckoned. His face was decrepit – composed of fibrous sinews which stretched tautly over his skull.

Leia didn't spare this mysterious man any more thought, however, when her eyes drifted down the base of the throne and toward the young woman standing several yards away from her.

Ania. Her daughter.

She had caught a glance of her back on the landing pad on Chandrila, but she hadn't thought much of her features since she hadn't known who she was at the time. Now she spent a much longer time absorbing every detail of her daughter's figure. She was short much like her with similarly short dark brown hair which terminated just below her chin. Dressed in a tight black jumpsuit, Leia could easily see that her body was strong and muscular – her well-rounded shoulders like boulders at her sides.

Her expression was firm and her eyes steely, yet in spite of that Leia could see that her daughter had a beautiful face, no doubt having inherited this quality from her grandmother. Leia's eyes watered up as she came to a stop a dozen or so feet away from her, too choked up for words as she gazed upon her child for the first time.

"Darth Vitrius," a booming voice proclaimed from above. "Welcome."

Leia's expression hardened as she looked above her daughter's head toward the man on the throne.

"Who are you?" she asked bluntly.

"You may call me Snoke," the man said with a flourish of his long-fingered hand.

A clattering sound caused Leia to look behind her. There she saw a semicircular formation of red-armored guards converging around her. They looked very much like the Royal Guards who had protected the Emperor, although their armor was more elaborate and practical than those guards' had been.

"What do you want with me, Snoke?" Leia asked, returning her attention to the man on the throne.

Snoke's face stretched creepily as he smiled, teeth bared in an animalistic fashion. "I want nothing but your death, Vitrius," he admitted readily.

Leia snorted at this comment. "You think you can kill me?" she asked, raising her activated lightsaber to her side.

"Oh no, I have no such delusions," Snoke said, sounding rather blasé. "But my apprentice, however."

Leia glanced down toward Ania. "This girl cannot kill me," she said bluntly.

"Is that so?" Snoke asked. "Was it not a girl who killed Darth Sidious himself?" Leia snarled, yet offered no retort. She had nothing to say, after all. "Ania, you will either prove yourself to me by killing Vitrius, or you will die trying," Snoke said. "Draw your weapon, girl."

Leia clenched her jaw in anger, remembering the hatred she felt whenever Sidious had called her that. No doubt Ania hated Snoke just like she had hated Sidious.

Ania's face looked pale as she reached to her belt and produced her lightsaber. Hands shaking, she activated the red blade and bent her knees in an offensive posture. Leia hesitated, unsure what to do. Was Ania going to really attack her?

"Strike her down!" Snoke roared. "Destroy your true enemy and join me at my side as an equal!"

With that, Ania took off running toward her with lightsaber held high. Leia didn't move for a moment as she observed the sloppily executed offensive. Ania clearly hadn't been trained as rigorously as she had been.

Just as Ania was about to swing down at her, Leia finally sprang into action. Thrusting her blue lightsaber up to meet her daughter's red, Leia casually deflected the strike and forced Ania's blade away. Leia ducked as Ania reared back for another heavy swing, evading the second blow with ease as the blade went zipping over her head. The third swing was met by Leia's blade directly in front of her chest. Ania gritted her teeth as she leaned into their crackling blades.

"You don't know who I am," she whispered, her lips barely moving as she attempted to obscure her speech.

"Oh no?" Leia asked, smirking slightly as she looked at her daughter through the two blades.

"I'm your daughter," Ania told her.

Leia smiled wryly at this. "I know," she said simply. With that, Leia thrust forward and sent Ania flying away. Landing on her backside, Ania slid away several feet on the slick floor. Leaping into the air, Leia held her lightsaber high as she swung down at her daughter's prone form. Terrified, Ania's eyes widened as she only just managed to absorb Leia's brutal blow.

"Stop!" Ania yelled, but Leia ignored her. Pulling her blade away, Leia reared back for another overhead strike. Ania managed to roll away just in time as Leia's blade went slashing through the ground. Getting back to her feet, Ania continued to retreat toward Snoke's throne as Leia resumed the offensive.

"Don't… don't kill me!" Ania pleaded as she struggled to keep up with Leia's blur of a lightsaber.

"Why would I do that?" Leia asked facetiously, barely even breathing hard whereas Ania's chest was heaving and her forehead was shining with sweat. "You're my daughter."

The back of Ania's feet hit the base of Snoke's throne and she fell down to the ground by her master's feet. Jumping into the air, Leia feinted toward Ania before propelling herself back upward with a boost from the Force. Lightsaber pointed directly toward Snoke's heart, she thrust forward with lightning quickness. Piercing the unsuspecting man in the chest, Leia landed briefly before pushing off of the armrests of Snoke's throne and backflipping away. Landing on her two feet gracefully, she looked up in triumph at the fatally wounded master.

Yet Snoke didn't look surprised like she had expected. Unfazed by the gaping hole in his chest, he got to his feet, kicking Ania out of the way brutally as he did so. Shocked, Leia deactivated her lightsaber and got to her knees to help her daughter who had slid across the floor toward her.

"You have always been a fool, Vitrius," Snoke said as he loomed over the two of them, his face contorted into another nauseating smile. "You thought you killed me, but you can never defeat the Sith. Soon your brother's precious Order will be in ruins and I will be revived."

With that, Snoke's body exploded, causing Ania to scream. Black smoke erupted forth from Snoke's empty golden robe. Leia held onto Ania tightly as the smoke surged toward them, a horrible wailing sound drowning out Ania's screams. Just before it reached them, however, a shimmering blue shield emerged out of thin air and deflected the smoke, ensconcing them in a bubble of calm while the violent maelstrom raged around them. As the smoke continued to course around the vast throne room, a deep, grating voice accompanied the deafening roar of the gale.

_The Sith lived. _

_The Sith live. _

_The Sith will live again!_

Finally, the tempestuous storm dissipated as the black smoke went soaring out of the throne room and down the hallway. Getting to her feet, Leia activated her lightsaber once more as she spun around. The formation of red-armored guards had been destroyed, utterly thrashed by the smoke which had exploded from Snoke's body. Bodies were strewn everywhere and the ceramic of their once-proud armor had been shattered to bits.

"M-mother?"

Leia turned around and looked down at Ania's quivering form. Falling back down to her knees and dropping her lightsaber to the ground, Leia wrapped her arms around her daughter tightly.

"It's okay," she cooed gently as she stroked Ania's hair. "I've got you. I've got you. You're safe now."

But that was a lie. The both of them were in terrible danger now.

For the Sith had returned.


	12. You're Crazy

Chapter 12 – You're Crazy

After a minute, Leia's breathing began to decelerate as she rocked her still-trembling daughter gently on the floor. Palm pressed against Ania's sweaty cheek, Leia finally pulled away to look her in the eyes which were shining with fear.

"W-what happened?" she asked.

Leia pursed her lips and looked around once more to assess the carnage around them. "I don't know," she admitted finally. "But I need to get you off this ship."

"Is… is he dead? Is Snoke dead?"

Leia contemplated her child's terrified expression for a second. "He is," she said, deciding not to expound upon her fears for Ania's sake. Retracting her hand from her daughter's face, Leia helped the girl to her feet.

"You saved me," Ania said, voice still quaking as she seemed unable to cease shivering. "I…I'm finally free."

"_Free from Snoke, but not free from peril._"

Leia inhaled sharply as her eyes widened. That voice… she had missed that voice for so long…

"_Leia_._ My child._"

Turning around slowly, Leia's chin began to tremble as she laid eyes on the ghost of Anakin Skywalker for the first time in nearly two decades.

"Father," she said breathily.

Anakin received her incredulous expression with a soft smile which didn't fully reach his eyes. "_The Sith have returned,_" he said. "_You know it, don't you?_"

Leia bowed her head in shame. "It's my fault," she said. "I failed you. I failed her."

Anakin didn't make any effort to dissuade her of this opinion. "_There is time yet to rectify this,_" he said.

"But how did this happen?" Leia asked, looking back up at her father's ghost. "We defeated the Sith! We brought balance to the Force!"

"_We did the latter, not the former, my dear,_" Anakin said plaintively.

"That's not true!" Leia insisted angrily. "I killed him! I killed him just like I killed Snoke!"

"_In a sense, yes,_" Anakin conceded. "_But the Sith do not die like the Jedi do. Ever since the Rule of Two was established, the life force of each successive Sith who dies gets passed on to the next. Whenever an apprentice killed his or her master, they would become imbued with the spirit of the Sith who lived before them._"

Leia's eyes widened in horror. "But I killed Sidious," she said. "Does that mean –"

"_No,_" her father assured her quickly. "_I shielded you. When I died, my spirit prevented the Sith from tarnishing you like Sidious had intended. I protect you just as I protect Luke and both of your children. No Sith will ever afflict a Skywalker ever again._"

Leia glanced at her daughter who was staring back at her grandfather with the utmost fascination and bemusement. "Then how did they survive?" she asked. "I killed Sidious. Why didn't he just die?"

"_Sidious had a contingency plan in case he failed to seduce you like he seduced me,_" Anakin said gravely. "_He created Snoke to serve as a vessel for the Sith. Snoke was never meant to be used, however. He was not a proper host for the spirit of the Sith. When they transferred into him, they were severely enfeebled._"

"But not anymore?" Leia asked.

"_They still are, but not for long,_" Anakin warned ominously. "_Something terrible is about to happen. Your brother is in terrible danger._"

"Luke? Why?"

"_Because he has with him what the Sith seek: a host._"

"But you can protect him, right?" Leia asked desperately.

"_It is not he whom they seek._"

Leia gasped when she realized what Anakin was talking about.

"Rey," she mouthed in horror. Anakin nodded solemnly. "You have to stop them! Father, you can't let this happen!"

"_I am powerless, Leia,_" Anakin told her with a shake of his head. "_All I can do is assist my son._"

"Then do that! Help him protect the girl!"

Anakin sighed before nodding. "_I will do what I can,_" he said. "_But whatever happens, remember to be strong and to trust in the Force." _Turning to Ania, he gave her a compassionate look. "_Your mother will protect you now. Respect her as you have respected me._"

Ania's face turned taut as she looked away from Anakin's solicitous gaze. "I'm so sorry," she said hoarsely. "I should have listened to you. I shouldn't have done it."

"_What is done is done,_" Anakin told her. "_All you can do now is move on._"

"B-but –"

"_Your family will forgive you,_" Anakin interrupted. "_Forgiveness is the way of the Skywalkers._"

With that, Anakin's ghost faded away slowly until Leia found herself staring blankly at the horizon. Refocusing her eyes, she turned to Ania who's cheeks were streaked with tears.

"He t-told me not to do it," she stammered.

Leia reached out and brushed away a tear from her daughter's face like how her mother had done for her the night prior. "Not to kill your father?" she asked gently.

Ania's face contorted in sorrow as she nodded. "S-Snoke ordered me to k-kill him," she blubbered. "I b-blamed him for everything. I thought he… abandoned me."

Leia didn't know what to say to this. "We can't dwell on the past," she instructed finally, deciding to echo her father's sentiment. "What we need to do first is get off this ship. There will be plenty of time later to discuss… what you did."

Ania nodded again and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "Okay," she said in a small voice. "Y-you're right."

"Come on," Leia said softly, taking her daughter by the hand. "Let's get out of here."

* * *

"Luke. Luke, come in. This is Leia. Please answer."

Leia was seated in the pilot's seat of the Millennium Falcon with her comlink in hand. She had been attempting to reach Luke for the past fifteen minutes, hoping that they would come within range at some point while they made their way through hyperspace. She had been forced to leave her X-wing behind in the hangar of the _Eclipse _because there wasn't room for both her and Ania. As a consequence, however, their trip back to the Core was going to take considerably longer considering how inferior the Falcon's hyperdrive was to that of the T-90's.

"Luke. Luke! Answer me, damnit!"

Overcome with frustration, Leia deactivated the comlink and smashed it against her forehead. She regretted this the moment she did it, however. Not only had it hurt a lot, it also must have been frightening for Ania to witness. She didn't want her daughter getting the idea that she was crazy.

Even if she was.

"We should be in range by now," Leia growled as she pocketed the comlink and leaned back in her seat. It was hard not to be frustrated. She sensed that something horrible was about to happen, and in light of what both Snoke and her father had told her, she had immediately feared the worst for her brother. Exhaling slowly, she attempted to calm herself like a Jedi rather than grow frustrated like a Sith.

Glancing over at Ania, she saw that her daughter hadn't been paying attention to her outburst as she was staring off blankly at hyperspace in front of them.

"Ania?" Leia asked cautiously.

Ania blinked a few times as she turned to meet Leia's concerned gaze. "Was that man my… grandfather?" she asked in a soft voice.

Leia furrowed her brow at this question. "Did you not know who he was?" she asked. Ania shook her head. "But you said you talked to him before."

"I talked to him, but I never knew who he was," Ania said. "He was always just a voice inside my head."

Leia frowned at this. "So he never told you his name?"

Ania shook her head once again. "I asked, but he never told me," she said, her eyes glazed over as she contemplated. "He told me… I had to make my own decisions. He said he had failed someone in the past by giving them too much advice, too much instruction."

Leia nodded solemnly. "That was me," she said. "He spoke to me when I was a child much like how he spoke to you."

"And he failed you?" Ania asked.

Leia shrugged. "He obviously feels that way," she said, not feeling comfortable with blaming her father in spite of the horrible things he had done to her. "What kind of things did he tell you?" she asked, studiously diverting the conversation away from this painful subject.

"He mostly told me about you," Ania said, looking away as she seemed unable to meet Leia's probing eyes. "He told me that my mother was the most incredible woman in the galaxy." Leia winced and looked away, feeling awash with guilt at this blatantly unwarranted praise. It had been her fault that Ania had been forced to live without a family. Hers! Did she not know that?

"What about Han?" Leia asked, her voice sounding a bit thick. "Did he tell you about him?"

Ania swallowed hard as she pressed her forehead against her knees which she was hugging to her chest. "A bit," she said in a tiny voice. "But he told me he didn't know much about him." This was true, considering the fact that Anakin had only ever met Han on one occasion. "I… I just figured that he had lied."

"Why?" Leia asked perhaps a bit too forcefully.

Ania shut her eyes tight as she clenched her jaw. "I didn't know who either of my parents were until a few years ago when Snoke found me," she said.

"He found you?" Leia repeated, confused by this phrasing. "But I thought you were his prisoner your whole life?"

Ania looked up and gave her a strange look. "No," she said. "Why did you think that?"

Leia blinked a few times. She didn't have an answer to that. She supposed she had merely assumed that her and Ania's fates must have been synonymous. Now that she thought about it, however, this didn't make sense. It was clear to her that Ania had barely been trained in the ways of the Force. Snoke must not have had Ania for long whereas Sidious had had her for her entire childhood.

"When and where did he find you?" Leia asked.

"I was on Tatooine," Ania told her. "I had been a slave my entire life, but I had only just managed to gain my freedom."

"How did you manage that?" Leia asked, feeling another deep pang of self-loathing at this disclosure. So even though Ania had not been the property of a Sith like she had been, she nevertheless had still been in slavery for her entire life.

"I was property of the Hutts, having been sold to them when I was an infant," Ania explained, taking a deep breath before resuming her story. "Most of the girls become dancers when they come of age, or even before then if the Hutts find them attractive."

Leia looked away, feeling sick to her stomach at the thought. For all its merits, the New Republic was woefully inept at enforcing laws in the Outer Rim. Slavery – which had been abolished nearly a century ago under the Old Republic – was still a thriving industry out there, much to Leia's disgust.

This had been a source of tremendous tension between her and her mother during Padmé's tenure as Chancellor. Leia had wanted her to do more about enforcing the slavery ban, but her mother had been unable or otherwise unwilling to go far enough to Leia's liking. While Padmé had insisted that she agreed with Leia, she had also told her that pursuing more stringent enforcement of the laws would be politically infeasible considering the tenuous nature of the New Republic's founding. While the Empire had been defeated, the New Republic wasn't the inevitable successor state. Had the new Chancellor pursued an excessively radical policy, so the logic went, the New Republic could disintegrate before it even got up and running. Leia had never bought this argument, however. How could it be too radical to oppose something as intrinsically evil slavery?

"The men had other options available to them, however," Ania continued, stirring Leia from her memories. "They could become guards, servants, mechanics, or any number of other things. The most enviable role, however, was the gladiators."

"Gladiators?" Leia repeated.

"The Hutts love entertainment, and the more brutal it is the better," Ania said darkly. "The gladiator fights became their favorite form of entertainment after podracing was outlawed. It's quite simple, really. Two men fight over a trap door which leads to a rancor pit. The winner lives and the loser gets fed to the beast."

Leia's lip curled in disgust at this barbaric form of entertainment. "And you participated?" she asked, aghast.

Ania shrugged off her mother's awe. "I felt I had no choice," she said nonchalantly. "I either became a gladiator or I was forced to become a dancer. I knew I'd rather die than do that, so I trained rigorously for my shot. Any slave that wins ten fights automatically gains their freedom, or so the Hutts said. It had never happened before, but I made sure that I would be the first."

Leia stared at her daughter as she assimilated this incredible information. So that explained her physique: her daughter had trained herself to become a warrior in the most physical sense of the word. Her broad shoulders and muscular arms were a testament to the long hours she must have spent preparing for the fights which would earn her freedom.

"You won all ten fights?" Leia asked, stunned.

Ania winced. "No, not exactly," she said. "I won the first seven. After I won the seventh, practically everyone on Tatooine knew about me. Nobody could believe that a girl was just three victories away from earning her freedom. I could scarcely believe it either, but I did have help."

"Help?"

Ania smiled thinly. "The voice would always guide me. He told me where to strike and how to exploit my opponent's weaknesses. I had to do all the fighting, but I was able to leave the strategizing to him. He was a brilliant tactical mind." Leia nodded, grateful that she had at least had Anakin at her side during this ordeal.

"What happened on the eighth fight?" Leia asked nervously.

"Things were going well," Ania said, a distant expression in her eyes as she thought back to the fight. "I was fighting this enormous zabrak who the Hutts had flown in from Dathomir specifically to fight me. They weren't happy with all the attention I was gaining so they tried their hardest to put a stop to me. The zabrak was getting angry that I was defeating him, so he pulled out a weapon even though that was against the rules. He used a vibroblade to slice at my leg. The cut went so deep that it sawed off a chunk of my bone."

Leia cringed as she glanced down at Ania's legs to see if there was any sign of the injury.

"The Hutts didn't intervene even though the zabrak had broken the rules. I don't really know what happened next, but…" Ania trailed off , blinking a few times as she stared down at the floor. "I killed him," she said hoarsely. "I don't know how, but I did it. Everyone just kind of stared at me in awe for a few moments afterward. The Hutts gave me my freedom then and there. I think they realized there was nothing they could do to defeat me so they wanted to get it over with before my fame grew any greater."

"And what about your leg?"

Ania's expression turned bitter as she flexed her left leg. "I didn't have anywhere to go after I got my freedom. The Hutts kicked me out of the palace and pretty much left me to my fate. I don't know how I survived, if I'm being honest. The voice stayed with me the whole time but there wasn't much he could do for me. The wound got infected pretty soon thereafter and I got really sick. I probably would have died had Snoke not found me in the desert."

Leia stood up and paced away a few feet, unable to remain seated as Ania's story turned from bad to worse. The only thing she could think about was how all of this was her fault. Her fault that Ania had been a slave. Her fault that Ania had been injured. Her fault that Snoke had found her…

"I tried to run away, but I was too weak. Snoke and his Knights collected me and took me away to his ship."

"The _Eclipse_," Leia said, glancing at Ania before resuming her pacing.

"I guess," Ania said. "He never told me what it was called. I always just called it what it was: Hell." Leia closed her eyes and grasped the back of the pilot's chair to stabilize herself. "He healed my leg and nursed me back to health, but just as soon as I was ready he began training me. That's what he called it at least. A more apt word would be torture."

"What did he do to you?" Leia asked, dreading the answer yet needing to know regardless.

"He'd have me fight against the Knights. First with my hands and then with a lightsaber. The fights were never fair as he would pit me against three or even five opponents. And the Knights were far better fighters than anyone I had ever fought on Tatooine. They would beat me every time, and Snoke would punish me for losing. He said that it was the only way to improve. That by fearing retribution I would never fail in the future."

"That is the way of the Sith," Leia said darkly, her face taut as she thought back to her own ruthless training under Sidious. "That was what Sidious did to me. As disgusting as it is, it does work, to an extent. When you are driven by fear, you will do anything to avoid defeat. And that's what he wants. To destroy your inhibitions and turn you into a monster."

"I guess he succeeded," Ania said in a choked up voice. Leia turned to her sharply. "He… he told me who my parents were. He told me the most horrible things about you. He told me that you abandoned me and that you didn't… didn't care about me." Ania looked away as her eyes started to glisten with unshed tears. "I didn't believe him when he talked about you," she said in a fragile voice. "I… I knew he was lying. The voice told me he was lying. B-but when he talked about my f-father, I… I wanted to believe him."

Ania sniffled loudly and burrowed her head in her arms, evidently too ashamed to look her mother's eyes. Shedding tears of both sympathy and guilt now, Leia took a step forward and knealed down by her daughter's chair. Placing a tentative hand on her burly shoulder, she beckoned her to continue.

At her touch, Ania seemed to relax a fraction. Raising her head, Ania elected to stare straight ahead rather than down at Leia. "The voice told me he was lying, but I chose to ignore him," she said hoarsely. "I figured he was just trying to make me feel better. Besides, I wanted someone to blame. He just… he seemed like such a perfect choice. I wanted to hate him and so I did." She paused, a shiver running through her body as a tear cascaded down her cheek. "Snoke told me that I had to kill my parents in order to complete my training," she continued, her voice more even than before. "He told me to go to Chandrila to kill you and find out how to find Solo. He helped me get elected senator so I could arrive without arousing suspicion. I found Ben and I intended to manipulate him into telling me how to find his… our father."

"You could have come to me," Leia said softly. "You didn't have to do that."

Ania shook her head as her face scrunched up once again. "I was an idiot," she said, her voice strained and rife with self-disgust. "I… wanted to kill him. I wanted to make him suffer like I had suffered. I… I thought it was the only way. I'd kill him and then you would follow me to Snoke where you would kill him. But when I met him on that landing pad…" She trailed off, unable to continue.

"He never abandoned you, Ania," Leia whispered. "He loved you so much he never stopped looking for you. It was all my fault. I told him there was nothing to find. I thought you were gone. It was me who failed you Ania, not him."

Ania shook her head vigorously. "You didn't fail me, Mother," she insisted, finally turning to look at her directly. "I failed myself."

"No, no, no, Ania!" Leia said forcefully. "None of this is your fault."

"Of course it is!" Ania yelled. "I killed my father!"

Leia opened her mouth to dismiss this before stopping herself. Recomposing herself with a deep breath, Leia bowed her head as she thought how best to handle this. "I nearly did the same thing you did when I was your age," she said in a deliberately calm tone. "My master showed me horrible things which my father had done. The only difference was that he had actually done those things. He was entirely guilty of his crimes, and all I wanted was to exact my revenge."

Ania's lip curled in a self-deprecating snarl. "But you didn't, did you? You didn't actually do it."

"I didn't, but not because I stopped myself. I would have done it. I so desperately wanted to do it. And I almost did. I had disarmed him and was about to strike him down with my lightsaber when my mother and brother intervened."

_Leia, please,_ her mother had exhorted her.

_Why are you defending him? After what he did to you?_

_I'm not defending him. I'm trying to save you from yourself._

"They pleaded with me to stand down, but I wouldn't do it, even for them. Luke even tried to fight me when I refused, but he didn't have any training."

_No! _he had yelled, lightsaber raised as he charged her.

_Luke, stop. Don't make me hurt you. _

_You're not going to kill him!_

"While I was distracted with Luke, my father got back to his feet and pushed me away with the Force. I was disarmed and totally disoriented. He ran toward me with my own lightsaber and raised it over his head to kill me…"

_No! Anakin, no!_

_Father…_

_Anakin! _

"But he stopped himself. Do you know why?" Ania shook her head morosely, looking apathetic to the answer. "He forgave me," Leia said, remembering telling her son an abridged version of the same story a few days ago, albeit for an entirely different reason. "He forgave me for trying to kill him because he loved me anyway. Your father is very much the same. He loved you so much, he did everything in his power to find you. He loved you above all else and therefore I know that he would forgive you."

Ania looked skeptical as she turned away, but Leia refused to give up. Removing her hand from Ania's shoulder, she raised it up and grabbed her daughter by the chin. Forcibly turning her head so that she could look her mother in the eye, Leia resumed her campaign. "My mother once told me that you can forgive a person no matter what as long as you love them," she said, her voice steely yet her eyes compassionate. "So I forgive you, Ania. And so does your father and so does your brother." She paused, her lower lip trembling with a combination of emotion and sheer determination. "The only person who needs to forgive you is yourself, Ania. I will _not _allow you to give up on yourself," she said, shaking her head for emphasis as hot tears welled up in her eyes. "I'm your mother, and I will not let you do that."

"But I'm a monster, Mom," Ania said woefully. "I killed my own father!"

Leia's lips twitched as she was suddenly transported back thirty years. She had been lying on a medical bed on Hoth, her mother seated by her side with an unwavering expression of determination as she stared back at her.

_I tried to kill my own mother! I'm a monster! _she had exclaimed after having strangled her mother at Vader's demand.

Padmé had shook her head vigorously, refusing to accept this undeniable truth. _I don't care if you're a monster, Leia, _she had said_. You're my monster, and I will do anything in my power to save you._

Leia nodded at her daughter, a steely resolve coursing through her and empowering her much like it had empowered her own mother all those years ago. "You may be a monster, but so am I," she said. "You know all the horrible things I have done. But you don't care about that, do you? You love me in spite of that. I feel the same way about you, my child. I love you and I don't blame you for the horrible thing you did."

Ania wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, yet it seemed to have no effect as her eyes were still shining with tears. "Y-you're crazy," she said, making an undignified snort which sounded half way between a laugh and a sob.

Leia smiled as she retracted her hand, remembering saying the very same thing to her own mother on the Death Star.

_Maybe I am, _she had conceded, a playful glimmer in her eye.

Standing up, Leia loomed over her daughter for a moment before extending her hand to her.

"I know I am," she said.

Ania stared at her mother's hand for long while before taking it and allowing herself to be pulled back up to her feet. Once she was standing, Leia wrapped her arms around her and hugged her tightly. Ania accepted her mother's embrace limply, unwilling or unable to reciprocate. Leia didn't care however. All that mattered to her was that after eighteen years, her daughter was finally back in her arms.

She would never let her go again.


	13. Ruin

Chapter 13 – Ruin

Ben and Rey joined Luke and A5 in the cockpit just as the ship dropped out of hyperspace in the Yavin system. The two lurched forward a bit and Rey grabbed on to his hand to stabilize herself. Ben was about to give her a reassuring smile when he felt a cold, piercing sensation permeate his core. He could tell at once that Rey felt it too because her grip on his hand tightened as her eyes widened.

Ben looked away from her when Luke stood up abruptly out of the pilot's seat. "A5, take over the controls," he said stiffly.

"What happened?" Ben asked, his voice sounding high with fear. He didn't know what he had felt, but whatever it was, it was bad.

"I don't know," Luke said as he marched past him and Rey out of the cockpit. Ben shared a look with Rey before following after him. "Mom!" he heard Luke call out. "Where are the blasters on this ship?"

Ben hurried after Luke toward the spacious cabin which had once been the throne room for Queen Amidala several decades ago. There he saw his grandmother seated on a comfy armchair – one with far better lower back support than the erstwhile-esteemed throne. When Luke and Ben entered, she looked up from the holopad on her lap with a surprised expression.

"Blasters?" she repeated. "Why would you need –"

"There's been a development," Luke interrupted, speaking with uncharacteristic brusqueness toward his mother. "Where are the weapons?" he asked.

Startled, Padmé nevertheless answered Luke's question, giving him instructions toward a safe in the main hold downstairs. Nodding appreciatively, Luke turned to him and Rey. "Follow me," he said, beckoning them forward with a gesture of his hand.

"Luke, what's going on?" Ben asked again as he followed his uncle out the opposite exit of the throne room toward the elevator. "Are we in danger?"

"I'm afraid so," Luke said gravely. "I sense… pain."

"Pain?" Ben repeated nervously.

Luke came to a stop in front of the elevator and rubbed his forehead wearily. "I fear the worst," he mused to himself. With that ominous statement, the doors to the elevator slid open and the three of them stepped inside. Upon arriving at the bottom level, Luke strode out of the elevator purposely and made his way toward the safe containing the ship's weapons. Opening the safe with a wave of his hand, Luke reached in and produced a blaster.

"Take this," he grumbled to Ben as he tossed him a petite blaster.

"What am I supposed to do with this?" Ben asked, giving the puny weapon a look of disdain. This was the weapon his uncle thought suitable for him?

"I hope you won't have to use it," Luke said, his voice muted as he resumed rummaging through the safe.

"There's no way I'm using this," Ben said. "It's ridiculous!"

"You will do as you're told," Luke said vehemently as he spun around with intimidating speed and thrust a finger into Ben's chest. "You will listen to me, got it?"

Ben shook his head defiantly. "I already have a weapon, remember?" he said.

Luke glanced down when Ben placed his left hand on his mother's lightsaber. "Ben, you don't know how to use that," he dismissed.

"I feel more comfortable with the blade than with this toy," Ben said, giving the emasculating blaster a derisive flourish.

Luke considered him for a few moments before acquiescing. "Fine," he said begrudgingly. "Give me the blaster then."

"Rey can use it," Ben suggested, causing Luke to stiffen.

"No, absolutely not," he said. "She's too young."

"Rey can handle a blaster," Ben said, remembering how she had opened fire on Ania without hesitation on the landing pad back on Chandrila.

"If we're in danger, I need to have a weapon," Rey said, speaking up for herself. Ben gave her a nod of encouragement which she received with a smile.

Luke hesitated for a moment longer before rolling his eyes. "Oh, what the hell," he said before turning back to the safe. "Give her the blaster."

Tossing the weapon over to her, Rey twirled the blaster once before flicking the safety on and off. Returning his attention to Luke, he saw he had produced two far larger blasters from the safe. "Close that behind me, will you?" he asked as he pushed passed him and Rey and made his way back toward the elevator. Complying with his uncle's request, Ben shut the safe closed and followed after him.

Upon returning to the cockpit a few minutes later, Ben saw that Padmé had left the throne room and was seated in the copilot's seat while A5 piloted the ship. Looking out the window, Ben could tell that they had entered Yavin IV's atmosphere as they were descending toward the jungle-covered surface. Squinting his eyes, Ben could make out a billowing pillar of smoke on the horizon.

"What's that?" he asked.

Luke pushed him out of the way as he leaned forward toward the window. "It can't be," he whispered to himself.

"Luke –" Padmé tried to say, but he waved her off. Visibly distraught, Luke spun around and exited the cockpit. Ben and Rey shared a look, equally bemused by this development.

"What happened?" Rey asked Padmé who alone seemed to understand what was happening.

His grandmother glanced back out the window before answering her. "That's Luke's Temple," she said in a strained voice. "It's been destroyed."

* * *

"Luke! Luke, come back! Where are you going?"

A5 had just landed the ship in the vicinity of the destroyed Jedi Temple on Yavin 4. Ben and Rey watched from afar as Padmé barreled after her taciturn son.

"I have to go," Luke said, dropping the two blasters he had been holding onto the table in the main hold. "Stay here and give one of these to the droid."

"Luke!"

"I'll be back," he said as he stormed away and punched his fist against a control panel. Ben held up a hand to his eyes as a ramp began unfolding and the cabin was suddenly flooded with blindingly bright morning light.

"Don't go! It's too dangerous!" Padmé demanded.

"I have to know what happened," Luke said, staring straight ahead as the ramp finished unfurling.

"You'll be killed!" Padmé cried desperately. At this Luke turned around to look at his mother.

"Do you have no faith in me, Mother?" he asked coolly. "If I were Leia, you wouldn't bat an eye."

Padmé bristled in indignation at this claim. "How dare you –" she started to say, but Luke cut her off.

"Ben, activate the security systems on the ship," he ordered in an even voice. "They're probably outmoded, but they will provide you with some security."

"No way!" Ben protested at once. "I'm going with you!"

Luke snorted and shook his head. "There's no way in hell that's happening, Ben," he said. With this, Luke stepped on the ramp and began descending off the ship.

"Luke!" Ben called after his uncle as he made to follow him. "You're not going without me!"

"Stay with the ship, Ben," Luke demanded with a growl, his feet crunching against the detritus of the jungle as he stepped off the ramp.

"No!"

"Stay with the goddamn ship!" he roared.

When Ben ignored him and made to run down the ramp after his uncle. As he did this, however, Luke spun around and thrust his hand out at him. An invisible force struck Ben directly in the chest, propelling him backward into the hull of the ship where he collided into the wall with a heavy thud.

"Ben!" he heard Rey cry out in shock.

His vision was blurred as he looked up dazedly. Several feet away at the bottom of the ramp, he saw Luke looking up at him with a fiery expression. He had never before seen his uncle look this way. He and Leia were far more alike than he had ever given them credit for.

"Stay here," his uncle instructed with steely calm. "This won't take long."

"Ben! Ben, are you okay?"

Looking up to his right, he saw Rey had gotten down to her knees at his side and was looking at him with a deeply concerned expression.

"I'm fine," he grumbled, wincing slightly as he sat upright.

"I can't believe he did that!"

Turning his head to the left, he saw his grandmother staring down the ramp with her mouth hanging open.

"I'm going after him," Ben said as he struggled to his feet, pressing his back against the wall to support himself.

"Ben, no!" his grandmother said, spinning toward him. "It's not safe!"

"I'll be fine," he dismissed, waving his hand before reaching to his belt. Producing his mother's lightsaber, Ben activated the red blade with the press of a button. Disregarding his grandmother's vociferous protestations, Ben took off running down the ramp and after his uncle.

"Come back here! Ben! Ben!"

His grandmother's shrill voice faded as he jogged down the snaking dirt pathway where he had seen Luke disappear down. Heart pounding in his ears, Ben soon found himself sweating in the humid jungle heat. After a few minutes, he deactivated his mother's lightsaber and came to a stop in a small clearing. Crouching down, he placed his hands on his knees as he gulped in huge breaths of air. He really was out of shape, wasn't he? He'd barely been able to run even half a mile…

Ben looked up sharply when his nose detected an acrid scent: smoke. Eyes darting about, Ben searched for the source of this emission.

"There!" he said out loud to himself. A great cloud of black smoke was wafting up above the tree line to his left. That must be where Luke had gone.

Resuming his pursuit, Ben took off toward the smoke. His lungs began to burn on account to both his exertion and the smoggy air he was breathing in. Covering his mouth with his arm as he coughed, Ben continued onward. Finally, he emerged from out of the jungle into a vast open area.

"Luke!" Ben yelled.

His uncle spun around to see him standing several feet away. Craning his head upward, Ben was stunned speechless when he took in the sight before him. A massive wooden structure was ablaze with flames, the deafening sound of the conflagration forcing Ben to cover his ears with his hands as the ground to shook underneath him. He saw his uncle scream something at him, but he didn't hear it. Luke took a step toward him and raised a finger accusatively, but Ben was no longer paying attention. Emerging from the burning temple was a company of four men in black armor which seemed impermeable to the flames.

"Luke! Behind you!" Ben yelled.

Turning around, Luke saw the rapidly approaching formation. Activating his emerald green lightsaber in his right hand, Luke beckoned him forward with his left.

"Stay close to me!" he bellowed over the crackling fire.

"Who are they?" Ben shouted.

Luke shook his head. "I have no idea," he said, bending his knees and grasping his lightsaber tightly. Following his uncle's example, Ben activated his own lightsaber and swallowed nervously. When he did this, the four men came to an abrupt stop about a dozen feet away. They seemed to be caught off guard by the red blade in his hands.

"Who are you?" one in the center asked, his deep voice certainly altered by his mask.

"You first," Ben said daringly.

The men all glanced at each other. "We are the Knights of Ren," another said. He was brandishing an extremely menacing scythe in his hand, the metal of which shined an orange red as the flames behind him reflected off the lustrous material. "We have come to destroy the Jedi."

Ben and Luke glanced at each other, his own fearful expression not reflected in his uncle's eyes where he saw nothing but cool determination. "Who do you serve?" Luke asked upon returning his attention to the Knights.

"We serve the Sith," a third warrior proclaimed.

Luke's mouth twitched in disgust. "The Sith have been destroyed," he said.

The Knights all laughed humorlessly at this. "You are a fool, Jedi," the final knight said. "The Sith will rise again!"

With that, the four Knights of Ren charged at them with their disparate yet equally-intimidating weapons raised. Luke waited for a moment before jumping forward to meet the four-pronged assault. Unsure of what to do, Ben merely watched in awe as his uncle engaged the vicious foes with exceptional skill. His green lightsaber devolved into a blur as he slashed and swiped with lightning speed. Never before had Ben witnessed such incredible swordsmanship; his uncle's fighting style seemed to be a perfect confluence of grace and power. Even so, he clearly was having a difficult time fending off four attackers at once.

Shaking himself into action, Ben ran forward to assist Luke with his mother's lightsaber held high. Slicing down at the closest knight, Ben's blade was deflected by an especially baleful-looking axe. Rearing his weightless weapon back, Ben slashed again at his opponent's midsection. Taking advantage of his less-cumbersome weapon, Ben managed to push the knight back for a moment before a second one jumped into the fray on his compatriot's behalf.

"Ben!" he heard Luke cry as Ben stumbled backward and only barely managed to evade the knight's heavy club. Swinging his lightsaber desperately, Ben somehow managed to nick the second knight's elbow. Roaring in rage, the enormous man raised his club high and nearly pulverized him into a pulp as he smashed it down into the ground by Ben's feet. Dazed and disoriented by this near-miss, Ben was unable to fully get out of the way of the other's knight's axe swing which grazed painfully against his flank. Grunting in pain as he fell to the ground, Ben looked up with terrified eyes as the two knights raised their respective weapons to deliver the final blow…

A green blade suddenly erupted forth and protruded from the second knight's chest. Deterred, the axe-wielder disregarded Ben momentarily as he turned toward Luke. Yanking his lightsaber out of the dead knight's back, Luke leapt away from the other's axe. Ben struggled to his feet as his uncle fought off two separate knights. A third had been sent flying away by a Force push, but he too was getting back to his feet in tandem with Ben.

Leaping to his uncle's assistance, the two found themselves back to back as they fought off their determined attackers. Ben's arms felt heavy and his breathing was labored, but he persisted regardless. The adrenaline coursing through his veins coupled with his unbridled rage kept him going, slicing his mother's red blade through the air with reckless abandon. After what felt like hours but was most likely no more than a few minutes, the knights began to retreat hastily when Luke managed to wallop off a knight's left arm. Ben and Luke made to pursue their embattled enemies, yet were stopped when the center knight raised his arm and unleashed a wave of fire toward them. Ducking the blast, the two of them fell to the ground as the knights suddenly took off, propelled upward into the air by jetpacks they had on their backs.

"Where are they –" Ben tried to ask but was abruptly cut short by an explosive coughing fit. "Where are they going?" he finally asked once the coughing subsided.

Getting to his feet, Luke watched as the knights flew away, a grey vapor emitted from the propulsion of their jetpacks leaving a trail behind them. "I don't…" he began to say before stopping, his eyes widening as he looked down from the sky toward something behind Ben.

Still on the ground, Ben craned his head backward to see a young, blue-tinged man looming over him. Startled, Ben scurried away before jumping to his feet by Luke's side.

"_The ship! They're going to the ship!_" the man said urgently.

"Who –" Ben tried to ask, but Luke cut him off.

"Why are you here?" Luke asked, his voice full of acrimony as he looked upon the man with contempt. "Here to gloat amidst my failure?"

"_Luke, there's no time,_" the man said, disregarding Luke's trenchant question. "_They're after the girl!_"

Luke's hostile pose slackened along with his jaw. "Oh no," he said in a whisper.

"_Go!_"

"Ben, come on!" Luke yelled as he spun around abruptly and tore off down the trail into the jungle. Ben hesitated for a moment as he looked back toward the man to ask who he was, yet he found no one there. The mysterious shimmering man had disappeared. Deciding not to contemplate this development, Ben turned around and ran after his uncle.

Ben felt faint as he sprinted as fast as he could back toward the ship. He was delirious on account to his exhaustion and the amount of smoke he had inhaled to this point. In his feverish state, Ben found himself worrying about what the man had said.

_They're after the girl!_

Did that mean Rey? If so, why? What did those brutes want with his sister? Regardless of their intentions, Ben knew he couldn't let them get to her. He had made a promise to his father to look out for her! If he failed…

"Luke! Luke!"

_Ben! Ben!_

Ben pushed the sweaty hair out of his face as he came to a stop and looked up. About a hundred yards away, he saw the fuzzy form of his grandmother standing at the top of the ramp. Ignoring the debilitating cramp in his side, Ben continued onward toward the ship. As he approached, he could see his grandmother was leaning heavily against the ramp beam. Blood was trickling from her lip and her left eye was bruised and shut.

_Ben! Help me!_

"Luke!" she yelled. "They got her! They got Rey!"

Ben nearly ran into his uncle who had come to an abrupt stop in front of him. Following his gaze up toward the sky, Ben saw a shuttle ascending into the clouds.

_Ben! _

"No!" Ben shrieked. "Rey!"

Just then, a colossal explosion threw both him and Luke off his feet. Landing on his back, Ben was utterly winded and unable to move for a few moments. His ears were ringing and he felt a horrible, singing heat on his cheek as he finally struggled upright into a seated position.

"Mom!"

Ben watched without truly understanding as Luke managed to get back to his feet and rush forward toward the source of the explosion.

"Mom!" he heard him yell again. "No!"

Rubbing his forehead, Ben tried to stand up but found that he was unable.

"_Get up, Ben,_" he heard a voice say.

And so he did. Overcome with dizziness, Ben stumbled after his uncle whom he could still hear shrieking in the distance. He suddenly tripped on something and fell down onto his face. Spitting up blood, he looked up to see Luke kneeling down on the ground a few yards away amidst smoldering debris…

"Mom, no, no, no…" he heard him say.

"Luke," Ben rasped. Crawling forward, Ben somehow made his way to his uncle's side. Getting to his knees, Ben saw that Luke's face was contorted in pain as tears streamed down his cheeks.

"Mom," he cried again.

Cradled in his arms was the disfigured corpse of Padmé Amidala. The left side of her face was charred beyond recognition and her neck was painted red with blood which had gotten all over Luke's hands.

"Luke, she's gone," Ben said, pushing past the lump in his throat as he placed a hand on Luke's quivering shoulder.

"No!" Luke bellowed, pulling his mother's mangled body into his chest. "Not again, not again, not again –"

"Luke –"

"This is your fault!" Luke yelled suddenly. Setting Padmé's body down, Luke turned on him before Ben could even react. Leaping at him, Luke grabbed Ben by the shoulders and sent him tumbling to the ground. Somehow, Ben managed to roll away just as Luke sent his fist plunging toward his face. Getting to his feet, Ben's legs felt wobbly as he retreated.

"You should have stayed with the ship!" Luke roared as he stood upright as well. The left side of his forehead was glistening with crimson blood and his cream-colored tunic was covered in soot. "I told you to protect her!"

"Luke, stop –"

Ignoring him, Luke charged toward him like a bull. Rolling his ankle as he tried to evade his uncle, Ben nearly fell back to the ground but he somehow managed to stay on his feet. Limping away, he held up his hands as Luke reared back for another blow.

"_Luke, stop!_"

"You killed her!"

"Luke!"

"_Son._"

Luke's fist hovered over his shoulder, his whole body shaking with both rage and suffering.

"_She's gone._"

At these words, Luke's furious expression shattered into one of raw sorrow. Falling to his knees, Luke covered his face with his hands as he dissolved into terrific, body-racking sobs. Ben watched with a mixture of apprehension and awe for a few moments before taking a tentative step toward his devastated uncle. Cautiously, he leaned down and placed a hand on Luke's shoulder.

"You killed her, you killed her," Luke wailed, yet the virulence was now gone from his voice having been replaced with a gut-wrenching anguish. Reaching out, Luke wrapped his arms around Ben's leg and pressed his forehead against his lower thigh. "Y-you killed her," he whimpered one last time.

"I'm so sorry," Ben whispered hoarsely.

The two stayed that way amidst the carnage, with Luke sobbing uncontrollably against his nephew's trembling leg. Looking up from his uncle, Ben felt tears of his own well up in his eyes, only to evaporate in the oppressive heat the moment they cascaded down his cheeks. Contemplating the ruins of his grandmother's ship around them, Ben was crushed by an overwhelming sense of despair.

How could this have happened?


	14. At Last, My Girl

Chapter 14 – At Last, My Girl

"M-m-m-master… Sk-sk-skywalker."

Ben turned his head sharply toward this faltering voice. He had been scavenging the wreckage of his grandmother's ship in an attempt to see if anything was salvageable. An unopened box of ration bars and a half-charred yet somehow still functioning holopad had been the sole recoveries he had made. Everything else had been utterly eviscerated by the explosion.

Stepping over the smoldering remains of what looked like the hyperdrive, Ben rushed forward when he saw a familiar golden light flickering. "A5!" he exclaimed, horrified by the sight in front of him. His prized creation had been torn in two at the midsection and the once-proud platinum plating having been charred black. Slouched against a slab of crumpled metal, A5 seemed to have lost control over his neck as his head was tilted to the side at an awkward angle.

Falling to his knees by his droid's side, Ben straightened out his neck and sat his torso upright. "A5, I'm so sorry," he apologized as he fretted over his mangled companion.

"M-m-master," A5 bleated weakly. Ben looked up to meet the droid's fading golden eyes. "T-t-terminate… m-m-me."

Ben's eyes widened. "No!" he said at once. "I can fix this. Don't you worry, you'll be up and at it in no time." At this assurance, A5's left eye suddenly went out with a pop. "I'll upgrade you!" Ben insisted, desperation beginning to seep in as he reached around the back of the droid's head and found that the circuits had been fried, perhaps beyond repair. "I'll improve your auditory systems!" he said frantically. "Y-you'll be able to hear things from parsecs away!"

"P-p-parsecs?" A5 repeated dubiously. Ben nodded vigorously. "Th-th-that is imp-p-possible, M-m-master."

With that, A5's other eye went out and his head sagged forward into Ben's hands. Feeling angry tears well up in his eyes, Ben bit down hard on his tongue as he looked away. None of this was fair. He had lost his grandmother, his sister, and now his droid all in the span of an hour. How could the galaxy be this cruel?

"_Stay strong, Ben._"

Looking up, Ben saw the same man whom he had seen earlier in the shadow of Luke's burning Jedi Temple. Setting A5's dome against the metal slab, he stood upright to face the blue-tinged man directly. He was young, likely no older than himself, in fact. He had a mop of shaggy hair which looked quite a bit like his own. Overall, he had a kind, appealing face, yet there was something unnerving about him which Ben could not quite identify. He looked much like how he would imagine a younger version of Luke would look like, but without the same warmth or ebullience. There was a grave, almost forlorn element in this man's eyes which cast a gloomy pall upon his mien.

"Who are you?" Ben asked him.

"_Do you really not know?_" the man asked as he took a step forward and kneeled down by A5's side. Looking down at the man, Ben quirked an eyebrow when he realized he could see straight through him. How odd. It was as if he was a ghost.

"I don't ask questions I know the answer to," Ben said smartly. The man chortled humorlessly at this comment. "What are you doing to my droid?" Ben asked when the man reached out toward A5.

"_Inspecting him,_" he explained laconically. Without placing his incorporeal hands on the droid's plating, the man somehow managed to lift A5's broken torso into the air. Standing back upright, the man rotated A5 slowly with a flick of his hand. "_He's been through the wringer, this one,_" he commented as he set A5 down gently.

"No shit," Ben sneered. "The whole goddamn ship exploded."

"_He is salvageable,_" the man said, choosing to disregard Ben's snark.

"You think?" Ben asked, his irritability fading in the face of a fledgling optimism inspired by this assessment.

"_I hope so, but it will be difficult,_" the man hedged as he turned to look at him. "_You may require the assistance of more… calloused hands._"

"What are you talking about?" Ben asked, beginning to grow exasperated with this stranger. "Who even are you?"

The young man smiled wanly at Ben's fluster. "_I am Anakin_," he said simply.

Ben took a moment before he understood the significance of this name. Eyes widening, he took a step away from the ghost. "You!" he exclaimed in both disgust and in fear.

Anakin bowed his head. "_Me_," he concurred.

For a few moments, Ben seethed silently at the man whom he now knew to be his grandfather. "I know what you've done," he said finally, his voice laden with virulence. "You're a monster!"

"_Indeed_," he affirmed.

"Then why are you here?" Ben asked bitingly.

"_To save my family from the brink of ruin_," Anakin said darkly.

Ben shook his head as he took another step away. "It's already ruined," he said, feeling slightly choked up as his chin began to tremble. "Sh-she's gone. There's nothing without her."

Anakin contemplated his devastated expression silently for a few moments, his lucent head tilted slightly to the side as he scanned Ben's face. "_The Jedi would tell you not to mourn, but rather to celebrate those who have passed,_" he said finally. Ben opened his mouth to object, but Anakin held up a hand to stop him. "_I would never give such cold-hearted advice,_" he said with a hint of disdain. "_Mourn, my grandson. Mourn, but do not neglect. You must be the strong one if our family is to survive._"

Ben's lower lip quivered at this daunting assignment. "Why me?" he asked.

"_You have already seen what effect your grandmother's death had on Luke,_" Anakin said solemnly. "_You can be sure that Leia's grief will be just as great as her brother's._"

Ben swallowed hard as he realized the veracity of these words. While she was exceptionally strong in some ways, she could also be cripplingly weak in others, as Ben had come to see over the course of this past week. Padmé had been the person she adored, respected, and relied upon above all else in the entire galaxy. Losing her would be a devastating blow, one from which he could only hope she could recover considering her already-fragile emotional state.

"_And you must also think of your sister,_" Anakin said, prompting Ben to look back up sharply. "_Ania will blame herself for Padmé's death. You cannot let her._"

"Why not?" Ben asked, the thought of Ania prompting him to scowl bitterly. "She _is_ to blame! None of this would have happened if it weren't for her!"

"_Ania is a victim, Ben_," Anakin averred. "_Just like you forgave your mother for her crimes, you must forgive your sister._"

"I can't," Ben said at once. "What she did is unforgivable."

"_It's what your grandmother would have wanted, Ben,_" Anakin said, clearly having anticipated Ben's demurral. "_I know you won't do it for me, but consider doing it for her._" With that, his grandfather's ghost disappeared as abruptly as it had arrived, leaving Ben alone amidst the ruins of the still-smoldering ship.

* * *

"Luke! Luke, look!"

Ben had just reemerged from the wreckage of the once-proud Nubian starship when he had seen another familiar ship descending from the dense grey clouds above.

"It's the Falcon!"

Luke – who was seated atop a mossy rock a few yards away with his head in his hands – looked up languidly toward the sky. Dragging the torso of A5 behind him, Ben made his way toward his bereaved uncle.

"Leia's here," Luke said glumly as he sagged his head once more.

Ben nodded as he dropped A5 down by Luke's feet. "You should tell her what happened," he suggested.

Luke shook his head. "She'll already know," he said, his voice muffled as he spoke to the ground.

"You should tell her anyway."

When Luke didn't react, Ben frowned and looked away toward the Falcon which was touching down about a hundred yards away from the farthest chunks of debris.

"What did you do with her?" Ben asked suddenly when he realized his grandmother's body was nowhere to be found.

"Nothing," Luke said.

"Nothing? But where's –"

"He took her," Luke said vaguely as he got to his feet. Face contorted with bitterness, Luke shook his head as he stepped over A5 and began to trudge through the ruins toward the Falcon. Ben furrowed his brow as he contemplated this odd statement for a few moments before turning to follow his uncle.

"I'm sorry for blaming you," Luke apologized once Ben had caught up with him. "It was wrong of me. None of this was your fault."

Ben glanced at Luke before returning his attention straight ahead toward the Falcon where he could see a ramp beginning to unfurl. "It's alright, Luke," Ben tried to reassure him.

"No, it wasn't," Luke said, jaw clenched. "It wasn't the Jedi way. I acted like… like him. Blaming a complete innocent… that's something he would have done." There was the bitterness one again, and Ben decided not to probe any further. He knew who Luke was talking about, anyway: Vader. It was clear to him that Luke despised his father, and Ben couldn't blame him for that. In fact, Ben could relate to Luke in a way he hadn't ever been able before. Sure, he didn't hate his father anymore now that he knew the truth, but he had spent the majority of his adult life despising the man. He was deeply familiar with the bitterness with which Luke was presently afflicted.

The pair walked in silence as they meandered through the wreckage and toward the Falcon. When they were a few dozen feet away, they saw someone descend down the ramp. Ben and Luke stopped abruptly, eyes darting toward the petite figure above them.

"Ania," Ben greeted frigidly.

The woman who everyone insisted upon calling his sister looked down at them with a nervous expression. With her arms crossed in front of her chest and her back hunched forward a bit, Ben was suddenly struck with how small she was. Sure, he had always known that Ania was short, but never had he thought of her as small. She looked very much like a child rather than the confident and imposing woman he had come to know over the past few weeks.

"My mother's inside," she said finally, speaking to Luke. Ben flinched at this referral. How dare she call Leia that! After what she did? "You should talk with her."

Luke peered back at Ania with an inscrutable expression for a few moments before nodding. "Very well," he said heavily. "Lead me to her."

Ania glanced at Ben one last time before turning around and retreating back up the ramp. Ben glowered after her receding figure for a moment before reluctantly following after his uncle. For a brief moment as he made his way up into the hull of the Falcon, Ben considered whether this could be a trap. What if Ania was lying to them and was planning on killing them?

Ben dispelled of this fear quickly, however. Not only was he confident that Ania wouldn't be able to kill Luke even if she tried, he also could not detect any signs of deception from her. Instead, all he felt from her was a crushing sense of guilt and remorse.

_Ania will blame herself for Padmé's death, _his grandfather had warned him_. You cannot let her._

Ben wanted to reject this, but he found that he could not. Based on body language alone, Ben could tell that Ania felt horrible about what had happened and for what she had done. While seeing her again had sparked anger within him, it had also inspired a semblance of empathy. He saw two distinct and irreconcilable people when he looked at Ania; on the one hand, he saw her as a murderer who had killed his father in cold blood, yet on the other, he saw her as a damaged and sympathetic girl who was in way over her head.

He was still contemplating this duality when he and Luke arrived in a spacious room in the center of the Falcon – the main hold, he presumed. Side stepping his uncle, Ben saw his mother seated on a curved bench with her hands rested on a checkered circular table in front of her. Sensing their presence, she looked up and her eyes found her brother's.

"Luke," she said in a hollow voice. "Tell me it isn't true."

Luke took a step toward his sister, leaving Ben and Ania standing awkwardly next to each other in the doorway. Ben glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and was surprised to see that she was crying. At the sight, Ben felt another pang of sympathy for her. How could he continue to villainize her if she continued to express nothing but remorse?

A long silence ensued as Luke sighed and looked away from Leia toward the table. When he finally spoke, his voice was so hoarse that Ben could barely understand him. "Do you remember that day?" he asked. "When we… when we were finally together?"

His mother exhaled loudly as she too looked away from Luke. "She shot me in the shoulder," she said, her lip curling into a bittersweet smile.

"And I put you down right here," Luke contributed, taking another step forward so that he could press his palm against the surface of the checkered table. His face suddenly scrunched up as he tilted his head. "And she took care of you," he said, his voice strained with sorrow as he shut his eyes tightly. "She took care of both of us. And now…" he trailed off, swallowing hard as he seemed too choked up for words.

"And now she's gone," Leia said for him.

* * *

"So what happened?"

Ben and Ania had slipped away from the main hold having collectively come to the decision to give Luke and Leia some space to grieve. Now Ania was seated in the copilot's chair in the cockpit while Ben leaned against the side wall with his arms and legs both crossed. At this question, Ania quickly looked up to meet his steely gaze before bowing her head once more.

"Look, before I begin I just wanted to say that I'm sorry," she said in a small voice.

"I know you are," Ben said flatly. He wasn't being facetious. Nor was he being compassionate, however. He was merely stating a fact; he knew that she was sorry. Whether that was good enough for him to forgive her remained to be seen, however.

Regaining her courage, Ania looked back up at his blank, emotionless face. Her eyes were bloodshot and her skin was a deathly pale. Quite frankly, she looked like hell. Once more, he was struck by how different she looked from the audacious young senator he had gotten to know over this past week.

"I never meant to hurt you, Ben," she said. "I will confess that I was jealous of you and I was terribly rude to you because of that, but I never wanted to hurt you. I was just so… deluded."

"Deluded?" Ben repeated.

"I thought… no, I _knew _that you hated him," she said. "I was raised in a violent and barbaric society, Ben. I was convinced that if I killed him…"

"I'd thank you?" Ben provided when she trailed off. Ania closed her eyes and nodded. "That's why you did it?" he asked incredulously. "So that I would _like _you?"

"Of course not!" Ania said at once. "That was just something I told myself to justify it."

Ben narrowed his eyes as he uncrossed his limbs and took a step toward her. "So why did you do it?" he asked lowly.

Ania hesitated, her eyes never deviating from his own as she sought for the words. Ben stared back at her intently, detecting her overwhelming sense of grief and regret with each passing moment. There it was again: their connection. He had first sensed it when she had called him that night after she abandoned him on the landing platform. He hadn't understood it then, but he did now. They shared a tremendously strong bond through the Force – so strong that he could feel every emotion she experienced, and she very likely had the same insight into his own mind.

"My master ordered me to do it," she said finally, her eyes finally leaving his as she bowed her head in shame. "He told me to manipulate you so that I could get access to our parents and kill them."

"You didn't have to do it," Ben said without sympathy. "You could have refused."

"I know I could have, Ben, and I wish I had," she said as renewed tears began to stream down her pallid, grimy cheeks. "But I was desperate and I didn't know the truth. I thought that he had abandoned me. I was convinced that it was _his _fault and by killing him I would… make things right. And my master, he told me I would be free! He told me I would be his equal and that I'd finally be free! Free, Ben! I've never been free in my whole life! It's all I ever wanted, so I convinced myself to do it. I convinced myself to kill him."

Ania covered her face with her hands and began to sob in earnest. Ben watched for a few moments, his hands held behind his back as he contemplated the pathetic site before him. He couldn't remain impassive, however. Wave after wave of Ania's overwhelming sorrow bombarded him, prompting tears of his own to fall. Removing his hands from behind his back, he tentatively reached out and placed a reassuring hand on his sister's shoulder.

Reacting to his touch, Ania looked up at him and sniffled loudly. Placing a hand atop his on her shoulder, she squeezed it in a sign of appreciation. Wiping at her eyes with her other one, Ania took another moment to fully recompose herself.

"I don't know if you can ever forgive me, but know that I am sorry," she said in a tremulous voice. "I am so, so sorry."

"I know," he said again, yet this time his voice was not cold but full of compassion. He didn't know either if he would ever forgive her, but now he at least knew why she had done it. It wasn't because of greed or malice, but because of desperation. She had suffered a horrible, lonely life up to this point. How could he blame her for choosing to blame her father for that fate? Had he not done the same when he had bemoaned his own far less arduous existence?

"Who was this man you called Master?" Ben asked, cringing as he said that vile word. Ania winced as well as she took her hand off his and looked down. Keeping his hand on her shoulder, he gave it a gentle squeeze of encouragement.

"His name was Snoke," she said bitterly.

"Was?" Ben asked, noting her choice of tense.

"He's dead," she said, although he detected no satisfaction from her at this development.

"How?"

Ania pursed her lips and glanced back up at him momentarily. "Mom killed him," she said bluntly.

"That's good, isn't it?" he asked, feeling a great surge of appreciation for his mother for liberating Ania from that monster.

Ania shook her head. "He wasn't even real," she said faintly. "All this time, he wasn't even real."

"What are you talking about?" Ben asked, utterly perplexed by this comment.

"The Sith," she spat, her jaw clenched with disgust. "They were just using his… corpse as a vessel. Now that he's gone, they'll just enter another."

Ben's eyes widened in horror. "How do you know?" he asked.

"The… I mean, my… _our _grandfather told us," she said haltingly.

"Vader?"

Ania looked up at him sharply. "His name is Anakin," she said stiffly.

Ben arched an eyebrow, intrigued by her defensiveness for the man. "Anakin," he repeated, placating her. "What else did he say?"

"That the Sith were after someone," she said.

"Who?"

"A girl," she told him. "That's all I know."

Horrified, Ben retracted his hand from Ania's shoulder and pressed it to his forehead. "Oh no," he said.

"What?" Ania asked him.

Ben slid his hand down his face and used it to cover his mouth. Shaking his head, he took a few moments before lowering his hand and explaining the reason for his dread.

"Rey," he said hoarsely. "They took her. The Sith have her now."

* * *

Rey's teeth were chattering loudly as she shivered with both fear and cold. Wrists clasped together with binders, she stumbled forward down the dark path as the men in black armor herded her forward. Their shadows loomed over her as the marched on. Occasionally they would prod her in the back with the buts of their blasters, causing Rey to trip and on one occasion, fall onto the ground flat on her face.

"Ben," she wheezed, her lip bleeding as one of the men dragged her back up to her feet by her hair. "Help me."

"Silence," a man said tersely, jabbing her in the lower back with his blaster once again. Grunting in pain, Rey's knees buckled momentarily before she stabilized herself. Gritting her teeth, she bit back a retort and forced herself to continue onward toward the faint yellow light in the distance. Just then, a raspy, guttural voice spoke – the deafening sound seemingly emanating from all around her.

"_At last_," it said.

Rey stopped abruptly, utterly frozen with fear. Incensed by her insolence, the man behind her kicked the back of her leg, causing her to fall down to her knees.

"_My girl_."

Eyes shining with tears, Rey looked up but saw nothing but black. Where was this voice coming from? Why was it talking to her?

"_You have returned home._"

At these words, a horrible, cacophonous laugh ricocheted about the vast chamber. Wincing as the dreaded sound barraged against her exposed eardrums, Rey found herself falling forward toward the dirt ground. Landing hard on her cheek, she closed her eyes and pleaded for it all to end.

"Ben," she whimpered to herself one last time.

Her cry for help went unanswered. Rey was alone.


	15. Siblings

Chapter 15 – Siblings

Neither Ben nor Ania had been able to sleep much that night. For Ben, the intermittent sounds of either his uncle or his mother crying, his looming dread about the inevitable return of the Sith, and his gut-wrenching despair about having lost both Rey and Padmé in the same day served to keep him awake even when he had wanted nothing but sleep. Perhaps it was for the best, however. Sleep would only bring nightmares of that terrible explosion…

Ben had been attempting to get some rest on the rock-hard bench in the main hold of the Millennium Falcon. Early that morning, he had been startled out of his state of quasi-sleep when he heard a soft pattering sound approaching. Jolting upright, he had seen Ania looking at him from the circular doorway. She had looked so small, wearing nothing but a silken nightgown without shoes or socks. His eyes had drifted downward to her left leg where he saw a jagged white scar which snaked its way from the middle of her shin to just below her knee cap.

"Ania," he had said simply, looking back up at her face.

"Ben," she had responded in kind.

Now they were strolling amidst the ruins of his grandmother's destroyed starfighter. Ben was rubbing his arms as the early morning chill coupled with the dew on the grass against his bare feet rendered his body cold and his skin laden with goosebumps. Looking down at his diminutive sister, Ben noted that she too looked a bit chilly. A sense of brotherly compassion and protectiveness washed over him at the sight. Quickly, he looked away, the memory of experiencing the same feeling when he had seen Rey shivering in the cabin of his grandmother's ship just the morning prior causing his throat to constrict with grief. All he wanted was for his two sisters to be safe… and warm, apparently.

"Aren't you cold?" he asked Ania, pushing past the emotions which the thought of Rey had triggered within him.

Ania glanced up at him as she stepped over a chunk of debris. "A bit," she confessed. "I'm from a warm planet, you know."

"So am I," Ben said with a faint smile. "Naboo," he told her, although he was sure she already knew. After all, she knew far more about him than he did about her. "That's where my grandmother's from, also." At the mention of his grandmother, Ben's smile faded.

"What was she like?" Ania asked in a soft voice.

Ben was struck with another pang of depression when he realized Padmé would never get to know her granddaughter. She had been robbed of that opportunity by the Sith.

"She was the most…" His voice cracked, forcing him to pause. "The most wonderful person in the galaxy," he managed to say finally. "She practically raised me since I was six."

"Why?" Ania asked.

Ben gave her a curious look, surprised that there was something she didn't know about his past. "When… when he left, Mom was never really the same," he began. "She became recluse and she stopped… being a good parent," he finally settled on saying bluntly. Ania looked indignant on Leia's behalf, but Ben continued before she could object. "I know you don't want to hear it, Ania, but it's the truth," he said. "Grandma was Chancellor at the time, but she still took the time to look after me since Mom could not." Ania said nothing to this, and Ben found his composure begin to dissolve once again as his chin began to tremble. "She was such a…compassionate person," he was able to say in spite of the tremor to his voice. "She would have loved you if… if…"

Ben felt Ania place a hand on his upper arm as they came to a stop in the middle of the carnage. "I'm so sorry, Ben," she whispered as he wiped his eyes with his sleeve. "I wish I could have known her."

Ben nodded his head as he took a shaky breath. "Me too," he said.

Ania tilted her head sympathetically as she looked up at him. Suddenly, she surprised him by standing up on her toes and wrapping her arms around him. Ben was too startled for a few moments to reciprocate the hug, but he quickly overcame his shock and rested his chin on her shoulder. They swayed back and forth gently as each relished each other's warmth.

He couldn't help but love her, Ben realized. He intuitively knew that he shouldn't in light of what she had done, but he couldn't stop himself. Their natural bond was too great for him to overcome. It was as if they were made for each other. For his whole life, Ben had felt a gnawing loneliness which he had never been able to resolve. Now he knew why. With Ania at his side, that intrinsic loneliness had finally began to ebb away and he found himself feeling whole for the first time in his life. He was sure Ania felt the same way with him as well. In each other's arms, they were whole – free from that dreaded solitude which both of them had endured for their entire lives up to that point.

After about a minute, Ben opened his eyes and suddenly gasped. "What's wrong?" Ania asked when he pulled away from her and stood upright.

"A5!" he exclaimed for the second time in as many days. Rushing past a bemused Ania, Ben scampered over toward the rock where he had left his droid the day before. "Idiot, idiot, idiot!" he yelled to himself.

"What is it, Ben?" Ania asked when he fell to his knees by A5's torso.

"I forgot all about him!" he told her. "His circuits probably froze up last night! Now I'll never be able to fix him!"

"What makes you say that?" Ania asked as she walked over toward him, peering over his back to investigate A5's disfigured remains.

"Droids aren't mean to stay out overnight if they're deactivated!" he explained in frustration.

"Mind if I take a look?"

Ben craned his neck to look up at Ania. "Be my guest," he said with a frown.

Getting down to her knees by Ben's side, she flipped A5 over to investigate his the exposed circuitry behind his head. Ben watched curiously as she prodded her fingers into the wiring, her tongue sticking out the side of her mouth and her nose scrunched up in concentration. Finally, she nodded to herself as she set A5 back down against the mossy rock.

"He'll be fine," she said assuredly.

"Fine?" Ben repeated, incredulous. "He's wrecked, Ania!"

"Oh, I've seen droids survive from far worse," she said calmly. "I fixed up all kinds of mangled droids back on Tatooine."

Ben blinked a few times as he assimilated this information. "You did?" he asked, intrigued.

"Yep," she said as she turned to look at him. "I've always had a way with droids."

"Really?" Ben asked skeptically. "I got the sense you weren't a big fan of them," he said, harkening back to the time she had lambasted him in the Senate hallway for using a droid as an aid.

"On the contrary, I'm very appreciative of them," she said, smiling wryly. "I just don't like seeing them perform jobs that belong to sentients," she added, clearly remembering the same incident.

"Why not?" Ben asked. "If they're better at it, why shouldn't they have those jobs?"

"Would you support a droid as a senator?" Ania asked.

"Of course not, but –"

"Here's how I think about it," she said, cutting him off. "Droids are designed to assist, are they not?" Ben nodded in agreement. "Then that should be their role: subservient to us." Ben opened his mouth to object, but Ania didn't give him a chance as she continued on. "It's not fair for a droid to have some cushy job in the capital when there are sentients out in the galaxy who are still in slavery," she said, an unmistakable twang of bitterness permeating her voice. "Droids should be the slaves, not the living."

Ben pursed his lips as he contemplated this argument. While he understood why she felt that way, he couldn't entirely agree with her. He could concede that her ethical argument was a valid one, but he wouldn't go so far as to say that droids ought to be slaves. He didn't see them as a jumble of wires held together by metal plating like Ania did. He saw droids for what they were: people and – in the case of A5 – friends.

"Well, will you help me fix him?" Ben asked, choosing to drop the argument.

"Of course," she said quickly, clearly eager to please him. The two smiled tentatively at each other before a sudden voice caused them to look away.

"Ben! Ania!" he heard his mother screaming from the distance. She sounded scared – desperate, even. "Ben! Where did you go? Ania!"

Standing up quickly, Ben saw his mother several hundred yards away standing at the top of the ramp on the Millennium Falcon. Waving his arms at her, he caught her attention. "We're over here!" he called out, holding his hands to his mouth to project his voice.

"Get back here now!" she demanded at once.

Ben glanced down at Ania and gave her a sheepish look. "We probably shouldn't have left without telling her," he mumbled. "Here let me carry that," he added when Ania attempted to pick up A5.

"Why? I'm stronger than you, you know," she said.

Ben raised his brows. "Oh, you think so?" he asked.

Ania dropped A5's lifeless torso and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "I know so," she said. Suddenly, she reached out and poked him in the chest. "You're soft, Ben," she said with a smirk, causing Ben's mouth to fall open in indignation. Reaching down, she took his hand and placed it against her bicep. "You feel that?" she asked, flexing. "Know what that is?"

"Muscle?" Ben provided, attempting to convey how unimpressed he was by this gasconade.

Ania shook her head and dropped his hand. "That's solid steel, that's what that is."

Ben rolled his eyes and spun around on his heel. "Whatever," he said as he began to trudge away back toward the ship. Behind him, he heard Ania pick up A5 and follow after him. He knew that he ought to be offended, but he found himself smiling instead. What could he say? He enjoyed the playful banter between them. He enjoyed having her as his friend.

As his sister.

* * *

"Ben, you idiot! What were you doing? I was so scared!"

Ben had just stepped off the ramp into the main hallway of the Falcon when his mother punched him in the arm.

"Ow!" he exclaimed, surprised by the force she had managed to generate with such a casual motion. It seemed she and Ania were composed of that same steel, whereas he was made up of a much more… gelatinous material.

"Don't ever do that again!" she demanded. Looking down, her eyes widened. "Where are you shoes?" she asked, sounding incredulous.

"I, um… I didn't put them on," he mumbled lamely.

Just then, Ania emerged from behind him and the ramp sealed itself behind her. Leia's fiery gaze transitioned from Ben's bare feet to Ania's.

"And you!" she exclaimed.

Ania dropped A5 rather unceremoniously against the wall. Gulping loudly, she took a step toward Ben as she withered under her mother's glower.

Leia's anger fizzled out quickly, however. Clearing her throat, she looked back up from their muddied feet to look them in the eyes. She no doubt felt uncomfortable disciplining Ania like she had disciplined him. After all, she had been Ben's mother his whole life, whereas she had only just met Ania. The thought made Ben sad.

"What's this?" Leia asked suddenly, her voice softer as she pointed to the floor. Ben followed her finger toward A5.

"A5 was caught in the blast," Ben told her. "Ania's going to help me fix him," he added, hopeful that Leia would be pleased by this demonstration of camaraderie. Instead of expressing pleasure, however, his mother flinched and she looked away from A5 quickly.

"It's a shame we can't fix people in the same way we fix droids," she mused to herself in a whisper. Ben and Ania shared a look, both feeling tremendously guilty for having upset their mother like this. After a brief moment of consternation, Leia shook her head and looked back up at them. "Come," she ordered tersely. "Luke and I need to talk with you both."

Ben and Ania both nodded quickly. Leia's eyes oscillated between them both for a few silent moments before she spun around and marched away down the hallway. Ania exhaled loudly next to him once Leia was out of sight. Turning to her, he gave her a reassuring smile.

"It's okay, she's not actually angry," he told her. "She's just concerned, that's all."

"It's not that, it's just… that was the first time we've all been together as a family," she said. With that, she pursed her lips and looked away from him. "Or at least, most of us," she added to herself.

Unsure of what to say, Ben merely acted on his brotherly instinct once more and reached out to place his hand on her shoulder. Turning back to him, she smiled feebly at him before bowing her head. "Come on," he said finally. "We shouldn't disobey the General any more than necessary."

Ania chuckled faintly at this. "The General?" she repeated as they began walking after their mother toward the main hold.

"I call her that sometimes," he said. "She tends to give orders a lot."

"I'm starting to get that impression," Ania murmured.

"Just give her time," Ben said, detecting the hurt in Ania's voice. "She just feels a bit uncomfortable around you right now, and you can't really blame her for that."

"No, you can't," Ania agreed morosely.

"So just give her time," Ben said again. "It'll all be okay."

The pair came to a stop just before the circular entrance to the main hold. Placing a hand on his arm, Ania gave him an appreciative smile. "Thank you, Ben," she said candidly. "Thank you for believing in me."

Ben glanced over toward Luke and Leia who were watching them curiously from a few yards away. Deciding it best to end their conversation there, Ben patted Ania's hand before turning to enter the main hold. Ania followed behind him closely, clearly feeling more secure within his vicinity.

In a reversal from their orientation yesterday afternoon, Luke was now seated at the bench while Leia was leaning against the technical station with her arms and legs crossed. Both Jedi Masters watched him and Ania as they came to a stop in the middle of the main hold.

"What did you want to talk to us about?" Ben asked, feeling supremely uncomfortable under the scrutiny. He could only imagine how Ania must be feeling.

"Before we return to Chandrila, there are a few things we must address as a… collective," Leia intoned as she pushed herself away from the technical station and began approaching them slowly. Next to him, he felt Ania's anxiety amplify further still. "The first issue pertains to the funeral," she said, sounding remarkably blasé considering the subject matter. "The lack of a body presents a challenge for us."

"Do you know what happened?" Ben asked, having not received a straight answer from Luke.

"I suspect your grandmother's body has been taken by the Force," she told him.

"What does that mean exactly?" Ben asked as he looked down at Ania who had suddenly leaned up against him. Eyes shut and jaw clenched tightly, she was clearly wracked with guilt.

Leia followed Ben's gaze toward Ania and she pursed her lips before elaborating. "I'm not sure," she said honestly. "I suspect my father has something to do with it, however."

"Why don't you ask him then?" Ben asked.

His mother shook her head. "It doesn't work like that," she said. "He only appears when he deems it fit. Besides, he doesn't disclose information freely, especially to questions pertaining to the nature of the Force."

"Why not?"

Leia shrugged. "Perhaps he feels it is not within his right to say," she said. "In a way, he _is_ the Force now since he was the embodiment of its creation. In that context, it makes sense why he is not willing to divulge his own secrets."

"That's bull and you know it, Leia," Luke said suddenly, his voice distorted with bitterness. Blinking in surprise, Ben turned toward his uncle. This whole ordeal had revealed a new dimension to Luke's identity to which Ben had never been privy before. No longer was Luke the happy-go-lucky foil to his stern and punctilious sister. Now, he saw Luke as a bitter, disenchanted old man who was afflicted with the demons of his own past just like Leia was.

Leia placed her hands on her hips as she turned to look at Luke who had just stood up. "He's a selfish bastard, and you know it," he said pointing an accusative finger at her. "He's always been selfish."

"What are you talking about?" Leia asked ominously.

Undeterred, Luke stepped away from the bench and toward her. "He took her for himself," he said. "He didn't even give us a chance to have a proper burial. He doesn't deserve her after what he did. She belonged with us."

"She's dead, Luke!" Leia exclaimed, throwing her hands into the air. "She's with the Force now, not him."

"You just said they're one and the same!" Luke roared.

Stumped, Leia bit her tongue before taking a different approach. "You've always hated him," she said acrimoniously. "Even after everything! Even after he saved us! Even after he saved you!"

"He almost killed us!" Luke countered. "Or did you forget about what happened on Mustafar? Have you just chosen to forget about that?"

"Should we go?" Ania asked to him in a whisper, her grasp on his arm growing tighter with each increasingly explosive comment.

Ben shook his head subtly. "We should probably stay in case they try to kill each other," he said out of the corner of his mouth.

"He redeemed himself, Luke!" Leia yelled. "I forgave him and so did Mom, so why can't you? It's not like he ever did anything to you."

"How do you know Mom forgave him?" Luke asked. "She never talked about him after it happened!"

"At least she moved on! She didn't cling on to the past like you do!"

"I don't cling!"

"Yes you do!"

"_Would you two shut up?_"

Startled, Ben and Ania both jumped at this foreign voice. The two turned around in unison as Ania was still clutching onto his arm. Standing behind them in the circular doorway was the ghost of Anakin Skywalker himself, his brow furrowed angrily as he stared past them toward his feuding children.

"Father," he heard Leia say with reverence. Ben had never heard his mother speak like that toward another person, not even toward Padmé.

Anakin's eyes darted toward his daughter, yet his steely expression did not soften. Taking a step forward into the main hold, Ben and Ania finally separated to allow him passage. Looking at them both briefly, Anakin continued onward into the center of the main hold.

"Why are you here?" Luke asked bitingly.

"_I have come to put an end to this needless feud,_" he told his son. "_You are both acting like children._"

"No I'm not," Luke insisted petulantly, unwittingly proving his father's point. Scoffing at her brother's behavior, Leia rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

"_Ben is behaving more like an adult than you are right now, Luke,_" Anakin chastised. "_He had every right to lambast his sister for what happened, but he chose not to. You, on the other hand, have unleashed your frustration on Leia who has done nothing wrong. You should model your behavior off your nephew._" Surprised, Ben found himself glowing with pride at his grandfather's praise of him.

"I don't blame Leia, I blame you!" Luke bellowed, spit flying from his mouth as he pointed his finger at Anakin's ghost. "You're the one who took her away from me!"

"_I did no such thing,_" Anakin said stiffly. "_I merely transferred her body to the next realm._"

"You had no right to do that!" Luke said, his voice turning hoarse from all the yelling.

"_You will come to thank me for that in time, Luke,_" Anakin said, chin inclined as he glowered down at his quarrelsome son. Aggrieved by this assessment, Luke guffawed humorlessly and shook his head. "_Your mother's death, while tragic, mustn't distract you from the return of the Sith,_" Anakin warned, frowning at Luke's reaction. "_You must regroup and devise a plan to defeat them!_"

Luke continued to shake his head. "No," he said. "I'm done with it all. With the Jedi, with the Force, with your bullshit. I'm done with it all."

"Luke, you don't mean that," Leia said.

"Yes, I do!" Luke demanded loudly. "I failed, Leia! My students are all dead! The Order didn't even last thirty years under me! I'm a complete and utter failure!"

"So what, you're just going to give up?" Leia asked. Luke bit his tongue and looked away from her. "I'm a failure too, Luke!" she yelled at him. "I failed my own daughter and I let Han die because of it. But I'm not giving up! I'm not just going to let the Sith win!"

"Well good for you," Luke said sardonically.

"_Ben and Ania must receive training,_" Anakin said, causing Ben's ears to perk up. "_The combined strength of the Skywalkers must assemble to defeat the Sith._"

"No," Luke said at once. "Not a chance. I will never train another generation of Jedi again."

"Luke!" Leia exclaimed.

"What's the point?" Luke asked viciously. "It will only end in ruin. It always does. And Sidious will return no matter what we do. We killed him once, and he just came back!"

"He hasn't returned yet, Luke," Leia said. "We can still stop him."

"No we can't!" Luke said, waving his arms angrily. "He has the girl now! There's nothing we can do anymore! We failed!"

"The girl? Do you mean Rey?" Ben interjected. Luke and Leia ceased seething at each other and turned to look at him sharply. Gulping nervously, Ben took a moment to regain his courage as Anakin turned around to look at him as well. "What does she have to do with this?" he asked. "Why are you so afraid of her?"

Luke and Leia glanced at each other, neither sure of what to say. "_He needs to know,_" Anakin told them. "_You've kept this from him for long enough._"

His mother sighed loudly as she nodded. "Very well," she acquiesced.

"What is it?" Ben asked. "What do I need to know?"

"There's a reason why Luke brought your father back to the capital, Ben, and it's not just because he wanted us to have a reunion," his mother began in a foreboding tone. Ben glanced cautiously toward his uncle whose inscrutable expression revealed nothing to him. "When Han found the girl three years ago, he contacted me immediately," Leia continued.

"Because he thought she was Ania?" Ben asked, recalling his earlier conversation with Luke.

Leia nodded. "I knew at once that he was mistaken because the girl he found was far too young to be Ania," she said.

"But why did he even think that she could be?" Ben asked. "He knew Rey was too young."

His mother shrugged. "He did, but I think he was so excited that he chose to disregard this detail," she said. "Regardless, I was quite intrigued by the girl so I asked Luke to go to Jakku to take a look at her himself."

"And?" Ben asked, looking at his moody uncle once again. "What happened?"

"I took a sample of her blood back to Coruscant where I analyzed it with the old Imperial census records," he said gruffly. "I didn't expect to find anything there, but I had no other resources at my disposal since the Jedi Archives had been destroyed in the Purge." Luke paused and gave his father a dirty look before continuing. "I expected she had to be the descendent of a Jedi considering how high her midichlorian counts were."

"But why would there be a Jedi in the Imperial records?" Ben asked. "They were fugitives."

"Again, I didn't expect to find anything," Luke reiterated curtly. "I figured it was possible that this girl's parents could be in the database had they been captured by the Empire, so I decided to give it a scan."

"And did you find anything?"

Luke snorted humorlessly. "Oh yes, I did," he said with a glance toward Leia. Ben followed his uncle's suit and turned his head back toward his mother who was anxiously chewing her lower lip. "You tell him, why don't you?" Luke suggested.

Leia frowned at Luke but nevertheless complied with his request. "The girl had one match in the records," she said, speaking directly to Ben. "When Luke told me what he found, I couldn't believe it."

"Why not? Who was it?" Ben asked.

"The girl is the granddaughter of the Emperor," his mother told him grimly. "She is the heir of Sidious himself."

Ben blinked a few times as he processed this bizarre statement. "The Emperor's… granddaughter?" he repeated dazedly. "That's… impossible."

"Sidious never even had children!" Ania contributed, her incredulity serving to dampen her inhibitions against speaking.

"That's what we thought," Leia said wearily. "Evidently we were mistaken."

"So you see why our cause is hopeless?" Luke said with a biting pessimism. "Now that Sidious has the girl, there's nothing we can do to prevent their return. Rey Palpatine will assume the mantle of the Sith and destroy the balance we fought so hard to create."

"But she's just a girl!" Ben protested. "She's not a threat!"

"The girl is irrelevant," Luke dismissed. "She is just the host. Every Sith that has ever lived will be reborn within her."

Ben rejected this at once, shaking his head vigorously. "You're wrong," he said with the feigned confidence of a seasoned politician. "Rey's more than just a host. I won't give up on her like you have. We can still save her!"

"How do you propose we do that, Ben?" Luke asked skeptically.

"I don't know!" Ben said, agitatedly running his hand through his hair. "We have to do something! She's my sister, damnit! I can't just abandon her to those monsters!"

"She's not your sister, Ben," Leia said in a low voice. "Your true sister is standing right next to you."

"They're both my sisters!" Ben insisted.

"Ben –" Ania tried to say, but he didn't let her.

"I made a promise to my father that I would look after her and that's exactly what I plan on doing," Ben said, pointing a finger angrily at Luke. "I don't give a damn what you think."

"And I don't give a damn what you think!" Luke countered in a booming voice. "You're all fools if you think there's anything you can do to stop this! Sidious has already won!"

"He hasn't won anything!" Leia insisted as she stomped her foot. "You're being such a defeatist!"

"He's taken everything from me!" Luke bellowed, his face turning red as a vein protruded prominently from the side of his neck. Shocked by the vehemence in his tone, Leia flinched and took a step back. "He took away my father and then he took away my sister and then he took away my aunt and uncle and finally he took away my mother! He destroyed my Temple and had all my students murdered by thugs! He's taken everyone and everything I've ever loved and I don't want to give him the satisfaction of ruining what's left of me! I won't let him! I won't!"

Luke fell silent yet his tirade continued to reverberate about the ship which shuddered and groaned. The four of them merely watched as angry tears began to stream down his face which was contorted with sorrow. When Leia took a step toward him, Luke held up his hands and took a synchronous step back.

"Stay away from me," he spat.

"Luke –" Leia tried to say.

"I'm done," Luke interrupted. "I'm going and I don't want anyone to follow me. Especially you!" he added, pointing at his father's ghost. "I'm going and I'm never coming back!"

"Luke, don't," Leia pleaded as she began to shed tears of her own. "I need you!"

Luke contemplated his sister's face for a moment before shaking his head and backing away. "I can't do this anymore, Leia," he said. "I can't endure anymore pain." With that, Luke turned around and barreled past him and Ania out of the main hold and down the hallway.

"Luke!" Leia cried after him.

"_Let him go,_" her father instructed, raising a hand to prevent her from following after Luke's retreating figure. "_There's nothing more you can do._"


	16. Three Blades

Chapter 16 – Three Blades

Luke's hands were covered in mud and his fingernails were completely sanded away, but he kept digging. Sweat poured down the bridge of his nose and plummeted down into the hole which he had produced. Grimacing with exertion, Luke moved handful after handful of dirt until he was finally satisfied. Taking a deep breath, he brushed off his hands and stood upright.

He was standing in the center of his once-proud Jedi temple. The wooden structure had been destroyed by the fire, but the epicenter still remained. In the center of the atrium had been a serene circular reflection pool. The formerly-clear water had turned black with soot and large chunks of debris now protruded from its shallow depths.

It was on this spot in front of the pool where Luke had taught his students the art of meditation. Closing his eyes, he pictured each of their faces as they had been in this spot – eyes closed and features relaxed in a state of absolute tranquility.

"Goodbye, my children," he said softly.

He had never married nor fallen in love like his sister had. He had seen how quickly her relationship with Han had disintegrated, and Luke had feared repeating Leia's fate should he decide to start a family with someone. The decision had not been an easy one for him to make for Luke who had always wanted children. His students, however, had filled that void in his heart. They were effectively his children, having raised most of them since infancy. They had all seen him as their father as well, in a way, considering the fact that they were all orphans or were otherwise abandoned by their birth parents. Now they were all gone, stolen from him by Sidious along with nearly everyone else he had ever loved.

Opening his eyes, Luke reached down to his belt and produced his lightsaber. Turning the weapon over in his grimy hands, Luke thought back to the day he had constructed it. During the first years of his training with Leia, he had used Obi-Wan's lightsaber. He had wielded that blade proudly, so proudly in fact that he had been averse to the idea of constructing his own. Leia had made him do it, however. She had insisted that in order to truly be a Jedi, one needed to forge their own weapon.

He was glad she had made him do it. While he had loved Obi-Wan's lightsaber, it had never truly belonged to him. He hadn't truly realized that until he had inserted the green kyber crystal into the hilt and activated his lightsaber for the first time.

Pressing the trigger, Luke now activated the weapon for the last time. It pained him to do it, but he knew he had to. He was done with all things Jedi, and that included his lightsaber. Contemplating the humming emerald blade for a few moments, Luke finally deactivated the blade and got down onto his knees once more. Carefully depositing the hilt into the hole he had dug, Luke looked at it one last time before filling in the hole with his hands. He could have used the Force to dig the hole and bury it, but he was done with that. He would close himself off from the Force now. What use was that power in his hands if he couldn't even save the ones he loved?

The hole was almost completely filled when Luke was startled by a familiar noise. Looking up sharply, his eyes widened as he saw an old friend approaching.

"R2!" he exclaimed. "You're alive!"

R2 beeped happily as he rolled around the soiled pond toward him. Smiling thinly, Luke pushed the rest of the dirt into the hole and sat upright on his knees.

"I'm sorry I didn't come looking for you," Luke apologized as he placed his hand on the astromech droid's dome. "I just figured you hadn't made it." R2 shook his dome and made an indignant sound, causing Luke to laugh feebly. "That was dumb of me," he conceded. "I should never underestimate a droid, especially not this one."

At this, Luke's smile faded as he retracted his hand from R2. Sitting down, he pulled his knees into his chest and sighed.

"I'm done with it all, R2," he explained when the droid beeped at him. "I'm done with the Jedi."

R2 didn't respond to this, yet Luke could tell that the droid was clearly disenchanted with him. Luke bowed his head, not wanting to have to explain himself. As he did this, however, a sudden voice prompted him to look back up sharply.

"_Hello, Obi-Wan._"

Luke's mouth fell open as he laid eyes on the recording R2 had produced from his memory banks. It was his mother. She was thirty years younger and oh so beautiful – her countenance smooth and free of the blights of old age. Leaning forward, Luke felt his eyes water up as he watched the recording, utterly enraptured.

"_Bail and I have been searching for you for the past nineteen years. Bail recently informed me that he obtained sources which told him that you are on Tatooine. I was on my way to meet you when my ship was stopped by the Empire. I have placed information vital to the survival of the Rebellion into the memory systems of my R2 unit. Bail will know how to retrieve it. You must see this droid safely delivered to him on Alderaan. If my son in with you, I ask you to bring him with you. Bail will provide for him even if I am unable to. This is our most desperate hour. Help me, Obi-Wan. You are my only hope._"

Once she finished this speech, the recording replayed itself and Luke stayed there watching without really listening. He remembered the first time seeing this message back in Obi-Wan's sandy abode on Tatooine all those years ago. That had been the first time he had seen or heard his mother. Obi-Wan had been stunned, having been convinced that she had been killed by the Emperor twenty years prior.

_Do you know what she was talking about?_ he remembered asking, having been completely ignorant about his esteemed ancestry at the time. _About her son? Do you know him too?_

_Oh yes, I know him, _the old Jedi Master had said, smiling wryly.

_Who is he?_

_He's you. _

"I can't believe she's gone, R2," Luke whispered as he finally looked away from his mother's projection. "It's so unfair." R2 made a sympathetic beep and Luke looked away for a moment. Suddenly, an idea struck him. "Do you still have that map?" he asked. R2 at once whistled his affirmation. "Good," Luke said. "I'm going to need it."

* * *

"Mom? Hey, Mom? We… we should go."

Leia exhaled loudly as she opened her eyes. She was seated cross-legged atop her bed in the guest room of the Millennium Falcon. Standing in the doorway was her son, his expression solicitous and his tone gentle. He looked so much like his father…

"Okay," she mumbled, her voice barely audible even to herself as she spoke down to her lap. "I'll be right out."

Ben hesitated a moment longer before nodding and closing the door behind him. Taking a shaky breath, Leia rubbed her eyes wearily before getting up off the bed. Shivering slightly when her bare feet touched the metal floor, Leia turned around and grabbed the thin blanket off the surface of the bed. Wrapping it around her shoulders gingerly, she sighed one last time as she contemplated what her brother had said the morning prior.

_What's the point? _he had asked._ It will only end in ruin. It always does. And Sidious will return no matter what we do. We killed him once, and he just came back!_

Leia had never seen her brother so broken and hopeless. Luke had always been the optimistic one, the positive thinker, the supportive friend. Luke had been her rock ever since they had met each other thirty years ago. Of all the people, he had been the one who had most fervently believed in her no matter the circumstance.

But now that man was gone, replaced by a cynical and depressed husk of his former self. Seeing her brother crack before her eyes had been tragic. Her poor brother had lost everything, or so he thought. The loss of their mother – while of course terrible for her – had been exponentially worse for Luke who had always been closer with Padmé than she had been. It made sense. Leia had grown up having a loving, albeit twisted and deranged parent at her side in Vader. Luke, however, had been raised by his aunt and uncle who, while by no means neglectful, hadn't been parents for him in the true sense of the word. He had therefore cherished Padmé in the purest and most absolute way when they had finally been reunited.

Without her, Luke no longer knew what he had to fight for. For Leia, the situation was far different. She still had her father by her side and she also had her two children to defend. Luke had neither of those things. So while his decision had saddened her immensely, she could at least understand why he had made it. In time, however, she would need Luke back at her side if she was going to defeat Sidious again. She was stronger with him at her side, and she would need all the strength she could muster if she was going to emerge victorious for a second round. Hopefully Luke would come around on his own, but if not, she would have to find a way to bring him back by force.

Stepping out of the guest room, Leia's feet pattered softly against the hallway floor as she slowly made her way to the main hold where she knew her two children to be. Reaching the entrance, she came to a stop when she saw them. They were leaning down with their backs faced to her. It seemed they had found some soldering equipment and were attempting to reconstruct Ben's droid.

"Hand me that wrench, would you?" she heard Ania ask. Leia pursed her lips and watched in silence as her children worked in complete harmony. Physically, they were so different from one another; Ben's large, hulking figure contrasted starkly with Ania's petite yet sturdy one. Closing her eyes, however, Leia cold barely distinguish between them through the Force. They were intimately intertwined – their Force presences wrapped together like vines around a tree – and the strength of their bond rivaled that of her own with Luke. They were siblings, after all. Through the Force, there could be no stronger bond.

Leia could scarcely imagine a more beautiful thing than seeing her two children together. She knew that she hadn't been a good parent – especially for Ania, but also for Ben. She had neglected him horribly after Han had left. As a consequence, she had allowed her own mother to assume a maternal role in her son's life. She had been jealous, but she had never been able to reverse that change. Quite simply, she hadn't been strong enough. Being Ben's mother had been painful for her. Every time she looked at him, she thought of his father or she thought of his brother who had died or of his sister who she thought had died as well…

Now she would amend that wrong. Leia wouldn't allow herself to retreat from her parental obligations. While she knew Ben was strong and he did not need her in the way he once did, she knew that Ania did. Ania needed Leia to be her mother, and that's what she was going to do. She would not disappoint her children any longer. From here on out, she would _always_ be there for them.

"Hey, you two?" she said, prompting Ben and Ania to spin around toward her voice. She hesitated, seeing the eager, and in Ania's case, almost reverent looks in their eyes. "Could you join me in the cockpit?" she asked. "I need one of you to be my copilot."

"I'll do it," Ania said quickly. Leia's mouth twitched, amused by her enthusiasm. The half-smile faded in an instant, however, when she remembered what that girl had done…

She couldn't help but feel uncomfortable in her daughter's presence. Just because she had forgiven her didn't mean she could forget what had happened. Every time she looked at her, she saw her thrusting a red blade into Han's chest and every time she looked at her, she saw a lifeless newborn who was refusing to take her first breath. Unbearable guilt and pain bombarded her conscience whenever she laid eyes on her daughter.

"Ben, you come too," she said therefore, not wanting to be alone with Ania in the cockpit. She needed to talk to them both, anyway.

Setting down their respective tools, Ben and Ania stood up and obediently followed after her. Reaching the cockpit, Leia sat down in the pilot's seat and began prepping for takeoff. She briefly glanced at Ania when she sat down in the seat next to her before returning her attention to the control panel.

_You ever flown before, General?_

_Of course I have. And you don't have to call me that, you know. _

_Oh yeah, why's that? _

_Because you know my name, Han. _

_Okay… Leia. _

Shaking her head, Leia purged the bittersweet memory out of her mind as she finished the ignition sequence. Hand hovering over the throttle, she hesitated as she thought of her brother.

"Goodbye, Luke," she said out loud. "May our paths cross again."

With that, Leia activated the thrusters and launched the Falcon off the ground and into the air. Ascending into the atmosphere of Yavin 4, she guided the ship through the dense cloud layer and eventually into space.

"Ania, begin the burn sequence," Leia ordered without looking at her copilot.

"Okay… Mom."

Inhaling sharply, Leia stared determinedly ahead as Ania began the process of getting the ship out of the orbit of both the moon itself and the surrounding celestial bodies. A few minutes later, Ania cut the engines and allowed the ship to drift in the open space.

"Come on," Leia said, unbuckling her seatbelt and standing up. "Follow me."

"Shouldn't we be going back to Chandrila?" Ben asked from the observer's seat behind Ania. "Why aren't we going into hyperdrive?"

"I want to take our time returning to the capital," she explained as she marched out of the cockpit. "I'm assuming you're behind me," she added as she took a turn in to the main hold.

Spinning around abruptly in the middle of the room, she saw that they were indeed behind her, looking visibly bemused by the turn of events which had led them here. "Take a seat," she instructed with a flourish of her hand.

Ben quirked an eyebrow. "Where?" he asked.

Leia snorted in amusement as she locked eyes with Ania who had sat down on the floor without objection. "Follow your sister's example, why don't you?" she suggested.

Blinking once, Ben complied and got down onto the floor by Ania's side. Crossing his legs, he looked up at her expectantly. "What's going on?" he asked.

"The time has come to begin your training," she said, smiling faintly when Ben's eyes widened. She had known that her son had always wanted to follow in her footsteps, but until now she had steadfastly denied him of this. She had been too afraid of what could happen if she allowed Luke to train her son. He had an innate darkness within him, having inherited it from his mother and from his grandfather before her. Now, however, the exigence of the conflict demanded that he be trained. Under her close guidance, neither of her children would succumb to the darkness which had afflicted her for the first eighteen years of her life.

"Ania's already been trained though, hasn't she?" Ben asked.

"Ania's training can barely even be considered as rudimentary," she said. "Snoke didn't even teach you how to use the Force, did he?"

Ania shook her head. "No," she said. "He didn't think it was necessary."

Leia laughed humorlessly at this. "How ridiculous," she said, her lip curling in distaste for the Sith who had abducted her daughter. "The Force is what gives a Jedi her power. Without it, we are no different than a common soldier."

"Yeah, but we have lightsabers," Ben pointed out. "That must count for something, right?"

"A lightsaber in and of itself is not a special weapon," Leia told him. "In fact, a blaster is superior in almost every way." Aghast by this assessment, both Ben and Ania opened their mouths to object but Leia prevented them from doing so with a raise of her hand. "In the hands of a trained Force-wielder, however, it transforms from an unwieldy weapon without range into a lethal and invaluable tool."

"I don't understand," Ania said suddenly. "What's so important about the Force?"

Leia smiled thinly as she began to pace with her hands held behind her back. "A Jedi uses the Force in every action they perform," she said, circling her two children. "In combat, a Jedi relies on the Force to anticipate his attackers moves and to enhance his own." She came to a stop and looked at the back of Ben and Ania's heads. "I will teach you the ways of the Force," she said. "But be warned, this will not be easy. I will teach you in the only way I know how: as my master taught me."

"Sidious?" Ben asked, his voice high with fright.

"Rest easy, my son," Leia said, attempting to infuse some levity into her tone as she walked back around to face them directly. "I don't intend on torturing you like he tortured me. I will challenge you, however. Physically, mentally, and emotionally, I will challenge you."

With that ominous declaration, she peered down at her children's faces to gauge their reactions. Ben looked especially nervous as he chewed on his bottom lip. Ania, on the other hand, was looking back at her with a look of sheer determination. After her experiences on Tatooine and with Snoke, Leia was sure Ania thought this would be easy for her. She thought wrong, however; this would not be easy, even for her.

There was a reason Leia had chosen not to train the younglings and had instead elected for Luke to assume that responsibility alone. Training under her would be grueling, unpleasant, and demanding to the extreme. She would gain results from her pupils far faster than Luke would, but they would not like her for that. She could only hope that her children were up to the task. She could be fairly certain that Ania would be, but she was far less confident about Ben. Sure, he wanted this desperately, but she also knew that the boy was soft, and not just in the physical sense. He had been coddled most of his life by his grandmother. He would have to be hardened if he was going to survive this training.

"Produce your weapons," she demanded after this long moment of contemplation. "Place them in front of you." Ben and Ania both did as she asked, obedient as always. She first looked to the blade which had once belonged to her, or rather, to Vitrius. Summoning the familiar hilt to her hand, she inspected it with the utmost fascination. "How did you come by this blade?" she asked Ania.

"The Knights found it in the Death Star ruins on Hoth," Ania told her.

"Knights?" Leia asked. She recalled Ania mentioning them to her, but she hadn't asked her who they were at the time.

"The Knights of Ren," Ben said unexpectedly.

Leia arched an eyebrow at her son. "How do you know about this?" she asked.

"They were the ones who destroyed Luke's temple," Ben told her. "And they were the ones who took Rey," he added glumly.

"They serve Snoke," Ania explained. "Or at least they did."

Leia nodded pensively. "I must say I am surprised this blade survived that explosion," she said, looking down at the hilt once more with a melancholy smile. "I constructed this weapon when I was four years old. My father helped me design it." Another moment passed before she looked up from her long-lost lightsaber. "It belongs to you now, Ben," she said, throwing the hilt toward him.

Ben caught it with two hands, his eyes widening a bit as he internalized this statement. "To me?" he repeated. "But it's yours!"

"I already have a blade," she said, patting the blue lightsaber which was dangling from her belt. "I have no need of another. It will serve you well until the time comes for you to construct your own." Turning her attention away from Ben and toward Ania, her eyes narrowed as she inspected the hilt rested in front of the girl. "You did not construct this blade," she stated, knowing it to be true without having to ask.

"I didn't," Ania confirmed. "Snoke gave it to me."

Once more, Leia summoned the hilt to her hand, but this time she didn't catch it. She left it suspended in the air a few feet from her outstretched hand. "Curious," she mused as she saw her own distorted reflection in the lustrous material. Unlike her own blade – and unlike any other Jedi blade she had ever seen, for that matter – this hilt was entirely smooth and devoid of grooves. It was made of a shiny gold and silver metal which sparkled in the bright lights of the main hold. No Jedi would ever use such an ostentatious and expensive material for their lightsaber.

"What's curious?" Ben asked.

Leia glanced away from the hilt momentarily toward her son. "I am familiar with this blade as well," she told him. "Very familiar."

"Why?" Ania asked.

Pushing her hand out, Leia returned the lightsaber back to the ground in front of her daughter. "Because," she said, frowning subtly as she glowered down at the blade. "That blade belonged to Darth Sidious."

Horrified, Ania scooted away from the lightsaber hastily. "That's Sidious'?" she asked, aghast. Next to her, Ben looked similarly appalled – his mouth hanging open and his eyes comedically wide.

"It did," Leia said. "Now, it belongs to you."

"No!" Ania exclaimed, shaking her head vigorously. "I don't want it."

"You committed a heinous act with that blade," Leia said coldly. "It is your responsibility to rectify the wrong you inflicted upon it."

Ania's expression froze as she stared back at the dreaded lightsaber at her feet. "But that lightsaber is evil!" Ben protested on her behalf. "She didn't wrong it!"

"A lightsaber cannot be evil, Ben," Leia said sternly. "He who wields it can be, but the blade itself is innocent."

"But it's red," Ben pointed out. "Only the Sith use red lightsabers, right?"

"This is true," Leia conceded. "But there are ways to change this."

"Change the color you mean?" Ben asked.

Leia nodded. "A blade turns red when its crystal is wounded," she explained. "The Sith have no regard for the sanctity of kyber, but we Jedi are less inconsiderate. I will teach you both how to purify the crystal inside each of these hilts."

"Purify?" Ania repeated, finally looking up from Sidious' blade to meet her mother's gaze. "But why not just make new ones?"

"You are not ready for that endeavor," Leia said. "Only after you have restored the integrity of that blade and have completed your training will I permit you to construct a new one." Ania frowned as she looked back down at the blade before her with ambivalence.

Leia contemplated her for a moment as she considered the wisdom of forcing Ania to use Sidious' blade. It was punishment, in a way. But did she not deserve punishment? She had killed her father with that blade. While Leia could sympathize with the girl in light of their similar backgrounds, she couldn't simply forget that barbaric act. No, Ania would have to prove herself to her. She would have to redeem both herself and that blade.

"Rise, both of you," Leia ordered after a moment's silence. "Pick up your weapons," she added when Ania made to leave Sidious' lightsaber on the ground. "For your first lesson, I will teach you the basic forms of lightsaber combat."

She knew Luke would have started with the art of meditation and manipulation of the Force, but Luke wasn't here right now. She would begin with what she was most comfortable: lightsaber combat. Sidious had emphasized lightsaber training with her from a very early age, and as a result her skills with a blade were unparalleled. Vader alone could rival her skills, and even he had been more or less defeated when they had dueled on the Death Star.

"Let us begin with Form I," she said, unclipping her own lightsaber from her belt and activating the blue blade by her side. "Follow my example," she instructed, bending her knees and assuming the classic Shii-Cho position.

And thus the training began. The blood of Skywalker was now being fully mobilized to confront the evil of the Sith once more. But without Luke at her side, would it truly be enough?


	17. The Coming Storm

Chapter 17 – The Coming Storm

It seemed her mother's warning about their training being challenging had not been hyperbole. For three hours that afternoon, she drilled Ben and herself on the first five forms of lightsaber combat. She had sparred individually with each of them, and she had not gone easy in spite it being the first day of training. Ania had done marginally better than Ben had – perhaps because of her greater experience and vastly superior physical condition – but even so, she hadn't performed up to her mother's high standards.

_Keep your blade high! Your neck is exposed like that. _

Ania had tried to do as her mother said, but she found it difficult not to resort to her instincts. They had never let her down before, so why should they now? Copying her mother's rigid textbook motions felt wrong to her. When she had gathered the courage to express her reservations, Leia had shot her down.

_This isn't street fighting, Ania, _she had told her bluntly. _The motions only feel uncomfortable because you haven't mastered them yet. Now, let's reset from the top. Form I… _

On and on they went until both she and Ben were drenched in sweat. Unimpressed, their mother glowered down at them both as they dropped their lightsabers and gasped for breath with their hands on their knees.

_Ben, you're woefully out of shape. And Ania, you're undisciplined and wild with your weapon. You both have a lot of work to do. _

_Do you have anything positive to say? _Ben had asked facetiously.

Leia hadn't replied at once, her chin inclined as she scrutinized their faces. _Not particularly, _she had said with a subtle smirk. _Keep working, though. You will improve in time. _

She hadn't been kind, but Ania hadn't expected her to be. She was everything Ania had ever thought her to be and more. Leia Skywalker was an incredible woman; never before had Ania met a person as powerful yet humble as she. Every authority figure in her life up to this point had been egregiously abusive of their power, whether it be Snoke, the Hutts, or even her senior senatorial colleagues like Zorq. Her mother wasn't like that. She knew she was powerful – more intrinsically powerful than anyone Ania had ever met before – yet she didn't flaunt that power. It was her humility which Ania most admired about her.

All her life she had yearned to meet her mother. Sure, things hadn't gone as smoothly as she had envisaged. She hadn't failed to notice how uncomfortable her mother was in her presence. If she had to be near her, she would make sure that Ben was around as well so that they didn't have to be alone with each other. This had disheartened Ania initially, but she understood why it was. No doubt, every time she looked at her, she was reminded of the horrible deed she had committed.

Ania was not one to brood, however; she would do anything in her power to redeem herself in her mother's eyes. Therefore, even though her shoulders were aching and her legs felt hollow, she continued practicing the combat forms later that night hours after their first training session had ended. The ship was in hyperspace to Chandrila now, and both Leia and Ben were asleep. She had let her brother have the second guest room for the night and had insisted that she would be fine sleeping on the bench in the main hold.

She wasn't tired, however. Jaw clenched in concentration, she repeated the sequences her mother had taught her. Her forearms trembled as she gripped her lightsaber hilt tightly, yet she refused to slacken her grip. Imagining her attacker in front of her, Ania assiduously performed the necessary parries and counterstrikes. She would picture Snoke looming over her on his gaudy golden throne, his grotesque face sneering at her as she swung the blade which he had bequeathed to her through the air.

Ania found herself closing her eyes as she repeated the motions with greater speed and force. She slashed and danced about the spacious main hold, her bodily aches and pains ebbing away as she became one with the weapon in her hands. Never had Ania felt so empowered before. Whenever she had been dueling the Knights of Ren in Snoke's shadow, she had been merely fighting for her life with no instruction or guidance.

_Through your failures you will learn, girl, _the wretched man had said. _With each scar, you will grow stronger. With each wrong move, you will grow wiser. _

Growling angrily, Ania redoubled her efforts. Her blade clashed with another while Snoke jeered at her from above. Eyes still shut tight, Ania swung again and again against her imaginary opponent. She advanced forward, no longer having to think about the motions as she performed them. It seemed her mother had been right; no longer did Ania feel awkward and rigid as she executed the sequences. On the contrary, she felt light and fluid. With every strike, she felt as if she was maximizing her strength. Before, she had merely been flailing about, relying on her physical strength and agility to defeat her more-cumbersome opponents. Now, she was truly accessing her true potential.

She felt powerful! Ania had never felt this way in her entire life! Snoke's sneer was faltering, his eyes widening as she continued to advance. Her confidence augmented with each powerful blow of her saber…

"Most impressive."

Startled, Ania's eyes flew open to see her mother standing in front of her with her blue lightsaber pressed against hers. Had she been fighting her the whole time?

Ania didn't get the chance to ask, because Leia suddenly pushed forward and began an offensive. Her confidence evaporated in an instant as she stumbled away. Holding her red blade up high, she did everything she could to keep the vicious blue one at bay.

"Concentrate! Remember your training!"

Leia's blade slashed down toward her knees. Looking down, Ania found herself frozen with fear. A phantom pain flashed in her left leg and she fell downward.

_She was writhing in pain as the sneering zabrak loomed over her, his vibroblade humming balefully in his right hand. He was going to kill her, and nobody was going to stop him…_

"Ania!"

_Ania, get up! _

"Are you okay?"

_She leapt into the air. How she managed to do this with only one leg, Ania had no idea. Jumping higher than she had ever jumped before, she twisted in midair and kicked down at the zabrak's hand with her right leg. The vibroblade went skidding away as she wrapped her legs around his torso and reached for his throat…_

Suddenly, she found herself on her back on the floor of the main hold. She couldn't breathe, having been completely winded. Her mother was looming over her with a dangerous look in her eyes.

"M-mom?" she stammered.

Leia's expression softened and her belligerent posture slackened. Extending her hand to her, Ania reached up and took it.

"You used the Force," she told her as Ania got to her feet.

"I… I what?" she asked, perplexed.

"That's how you killed that zabrak," Leia explained. "And that's how you nearly just killed me." Ania's eyes practically bulged out of their sockets at this comment. "Don't worry," her mother assured her, smiling faintly at her reaction. "It's going to take a lot more than that to get the better of me."

"What… what did I do?" she asked, still horrified.

"You jumped over me," Leia told her, her eyes sparkling with what Ania hoped was pride. "It's a good thing you didn't hit the ceiling. I'm not quite sure how you did it, but you managed to wrap your legs around my torso and you tried to strangle me."

"I – I didn't mean to!" she insisted. "I swear!"

"It's quite alright," Leia said, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder. At her mother's touch, Ania ceased fretting as a warm sensation percolated throughout her torso. "You were merely acting on instinct. After all, I was about to kill you."

"Not… not really, right?" she asked nervously.

Her mother chuckled. "No, not really," she affirmed.

Adrenaline wearing off quickly, Ania suddenly felt a rush of lightheadedness. Staggering backward, Leia's grip on her shoulder tightened as she stabilized her.

"I'm okay," Ania said before Leia could ask. "Just tired, that's all."

"I figured you would be," Leia said as she released her. "I was surprised to see you were still awake, much less still practicing."

"I want to get better," Ania said determinedly as she took a step back and sat down heavily on the bench. "I have to get better."

Leia smiled at her, causing Ania to feel a gush of pride. She had never seen her mother smile like that before. Heart fluttering, Ania looked down as she felt a blush spreading across her already-rosy cheeks.

"You will get better," her mother told her. "But perhaps you should get some sleep first. You need rest."

Ania clasped her hands together on her lap and nodded. "Yes, Mom," she said softly, her head still bowed toward her knees. Suddenly, she felt a hand on her chin, compelling her to look up. Complying, she locked eyes with her mother's brown ones which looked so much like her own.

"I am proud of you, Ania," she told her, her voice uncharacteristically warm as the corners of her eyes crinkled with affection. A beat passed as mother and daughter looked at each other. Releasing her chin, Leia suddenly leaned down and planted a soft kiss on her forehead. Ania's eyes widened and her skin tingled as she watched her mother stand back upright. "Get some rest," she told her. "You're going to have a busy day tomorrow."

"Yes, Mom," Ania said once again, feeling downright giddy that she was able to say this. She had a mother! That was all she had ever wanted, and Ania could scarcely believe that she finally had it.

Leia smiled at her one last time before nodding. Without another word, she stepped away and left the main hold. "I won't let you down, Mom," Ania promised to the empty room.

* * *

The next morning, Ania woke up with a groan. Every muscle in her body from her neck to her calves were aching. Sleeping on the hard bench certainly hadn't helped things, either. She felt stiff as a board.

"Morning, sleepyhead."

Ania's abdominal muscles screamed in pain as she forced herself up into a sitting position. Grimacing, she turned her head toward the voice to see Ben crouched over on the ground a few feet away.

"What are you doing?" she asked. Arching her back, she felt a series of cracks and groans cascade down her spine, granting her a modicum of relief.

"I was just putting the finishing touches on A5," he told her enthusiastically. She watched with an amused smile as Ben returned his attention to the droid, his tongue sticking out of his mouth as he concentrated on the circuitry in the back of A5's head. "That should do for now," he said, standing up. "We can work more on him when we get back to the capital. I've got a whole shop, you know," he told her, standing back upright. "You'll love it. I've got all the tools you could ever need."

Ania's thin smile broadened as she contemplated her brother's eager tone and expression. She could admit that she was jealous – so much so that she had been downright hostile toward him when they had first met. It was hard for her not to be. He was a man who had been granted everything to him on a silver platter while she had been forced to endure a lifetime of suffering and tribulation. It wasn't fair!

_Nothing in this galaxy is fair, Ania, _the voice had told her when she voiced her frustrations to him. _In the end, it is what you make with what you are given that matters. Remember that, young one. _

Now she saw Ben in a more objective light. While she had been deeply aggrieved to learn that he didn't appreciate his mother like she did, she could now understand why that was. She could also understand why he had hated his father yet had nevertheless been devastated by his death. The one thing she couldn't understand about him, however, was how he had been so willing to forgive her. With Leia, it made sense. They had endured comparable hardships, so her mother understood why Ania had felt forced to do what she had done. Ben, on the other hand, had no such comprehension.

_My mother once told me that you can forgive a person no matter what as long as you love them, _Leia had told her three days prior. _So I forgive you, Ania. And so does your father and so does your brother._

Was it really that simple? Did Ben forgive her simply because… because he loved her? She should have been too cynical to believe such a thing, but she found that she wasn't. She had seen how welcoming Ben had been toward that little girl Rey despite hardly knowing her. He had embraced her as his sister even though they weren't related and he had no relationship with her adoptive father. That was the singular trait which defined Ben: his compassion.

And Ania loved him for that.

She felt so fortunate to have both him and her mother in her life. Despite all the horrible things that had happened over the course of the past week, Ania felt stronger than ever. Their love for her and her reciprocal love for them had empowered her beyond what she had ever thought possible. With their support, she was finally shedding herself of the ingrained belief of inferiority and sense of powerlessness which all slaves possessed. With her brother and mother at her side, Ania's shackles were finally crumbling away.

"What are you thinking about over there?"

Ben's voice startled Ania back to the present. Blinking a few times, she shook her head and reoriented herself.

"I, uh… nothing," she said, rubbing her eyes. She hadn't known how long she had slept for, but she knew it hadn't been enough. She still felt exhausted. "How long before we get back to the capital?" she asked.

"Not long, maybe an hour," Ben told her. "We should be exiting hyperspace pretty soon."

Nodding, Ania rubbed her sore shoulders tenderly as she thought of what she wanted to say. "Hey, Ben?" she said finally, causing Ben to look away from A5 back to her. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course," he said at once.

"How… how are we going to do all this?" she asked. When Ben furrowed his brow in confusion, she elaborated. "Surely we can't train as Jedi yet also be full time senators, right?"

Ben's bemused expression morphed into one of contemplation as he scrunched up his forehead. Clearly he hadn't thought about this before now. "I don't know," he confessed honestly. "But we have to, don't we?"

"You might, but I don't," she said cautiously. When Ben quirked an eyebrow, she spoke before he could ask her what she meant. "I'm not like you, Ben," she said. "I'm a junior senator from an Outer Rim planet. Nobody cares about what I have to say."

"Ania, don't say that!" Ben exclaimed, aghast.

"It's okay, Ben," she said, smiling faintly at his indignation. "I don't deserve my position, anyway. Snoke was the one who got it for me."

"He did?" Ben asked. "How?"

Ania shrugged. "I don't know exactly," she said. "I think he exposed by predecessor for corruption and bribed the Hutts to approve of my appointment. Either way, I didn't earn the position like you did."

"I didn't earn it either!" Ben insisted. "I was chosen because of my name alone!"

"Yeah, but you actually _want _to be a senator," she pointed out. "I only did it because Snoke made me."

Ben frowned at this. Glancing behind him toward the hallway, he took a step closer toward her. "I don't really want to be a senator either, if I'm being frank," he told her. "I always wanted to be a Jedi when I was a kid, but Mom wouldn't let me. I guess I just felt… obliged to follow in my grandmother's footsteps." Surprised, Ania leaned back against the bench and tilted her head. "That being said, I have a duty to represent my people now," he said. "And so do you, for that matter."

Ania snorted cynically at this. "The people I represent are the scum of the galaxy, Ben," she said.

"Maybe so, but even scum deserve representation," Ben retorted in true egalitarian fashion.

Amused, Ania shook her head. "I'm not going to do it, Ben," she said. "When we get back to the capital, I'm going to submit my resignation."

"But why?"

"I already told you why," Ania said, frowning.

"No, you misunderstand me," Ben said, raising a hand. "Why are you _officially _resigning? You have to give an explanation, otherwise the media is going to come up with all sorts of nasty things."

"Oh," Ania said, having not considered this. It was clear Ben was far more politically savvy than she was. "Why can't I just give the real reason?" she asked.

"You can, but we have to talk to Mom first if you're going to do that," Ben said. "If we're going to do this, we have to do it carefully."

"Do what?"

"Reveal to the galaxy that you are Leia Skywalker's long-lost daughter," Ben explained. "Are you sure you really want to do that?"

"Of course I do!" she exclaimed.

"Okay, but be warned that this is going to cause a media frenzy," Ben presaged. "Your life will never be the same. There won't be anywhere you go without people recognizing you. Never again will you just be Ania. From here on out, you will be known as Leia Skywalker's daughter, just as I am only known as her son." Ania swallowed hard and looked away, the magnitude of this decision suddenly weighing down upon her. "Are you sure you want that?" Ben asked her.

Ania opened her mouth, but no words came out. All her life, she had been an anonymous figure amongst the shadows whom nobody looked twice at. She wasn't sure how she would handle being thrown into the spotlight like that.

But this was what she had always wanted! All her life, she had dreamed of being reunited with her mother. Who cared what the galaxy thought about her! Ania didn't give a damn about that.

"I am sure," she said therefore. "I don't want to hide anymore, Ben."

Ben considered her for a few moments before smiling. "Okay," he said. "I can help draft up the press release, if you want."

Ania reciprocated his smile a bit sheepishly. "I'd appreciate that," she said. She could read and write, yes, but nowhere near as fluidly or elegantly as she suspected Ben could. Unsurprisingly, education wasn't emphasized amongst slaves on Tatooine.

"I will ask you to at least refrain from resigning until tomorrow, at the very least," Ben said suddenly. "The Vice Chair of the Senate contacted me this morning. She wants me to convene an emergency CIH session."

"Why?" Ania asked.

"I'm not sure, I haven't seen the briefing yet," Ben told her. "I suspect it has to do with the First Order, though. They've been getting more and more bold with their strikes into the Mid Rim."

Ania pursed her lips at this disquieting news. "Do you think it could be connected to the Sith?" she asked.

Ben shrugged. "I hope not, but it seems like too much of a coincidence not to be," he said. "I'm going to propose an expansion of the military budget this afternoon. I want you to be there."

"You think it's not going to go well?" Ania asked, perturbed by his foreboding tone.

"I know it won't," he said heavily. "My whole career I have opposed such measures, but now I feel we have no choice. My allies are going to call me a hypocrite for it, but hopefully they'll see my side with some persuasion."

Ania nodded. "I'll be there for you, Ben," she said.

Ben beamed at her, causing Ania to smile in return. "Thank you, Ania," he said. "That means a lot to me."

It meant a lot to her too. To have someone whom she cared about enough to want to support them in their endeavors irrespective of her own interests? That wasn't something Ania had ever had before. Relationships with her fellow slaves or superiors on Tatooine had always been cutthroat and devoid of generosity. All her life, she had been taught to look out for herself, oftentimes at the expense of her peers. Because of her budding friendship with Ben, however, she was coming learn that not all relationships had to be so vicious.

"Come on," Ben said, beckoning her to stand up with a gesture of his hand. "Let's see if Mom needs help in the cockpit."

* * *

An hour later, the three of them were disembarking the Falcon after they had touched down on Chandrila. Glancing up at the cloudy sky above, Ania was greeted rather rudely by a fat rain droplet which hit her square in the forehead. Drying herself with her sleeve, she suddenly froze when she looked back down to see where they were.

She intuitively knew that it wasn't the same landing pad, but it looked more or less the same. Just a few feet away at the bottom of the ramp had been where she had murdered her father in cold blood…

"Ania, you okay?"

Startled, Ania looked up to see Ben at her side. "Yeah," she mumbled. "I'm fine."

Following their mother's example, Ben and Ania descended the ramp and onto the landing platform. The wind was howling powerfully, causing her hair to whip about in front of her face. Brushing her recalcitrant hair out of the way, she blinked in surprise when she saw Leia had spun around and was giving her a probing look. Disconcerted, Ania glanced to Ben for support.

"You mustn't do this to yourself, Ania," Leia said finally.

"Do what?" Ania asked, perplexed by this abrupt instruction.

"Feel guilty," her mother explained. "It is a path to ruin."

"I… I don't –"

"There's no point in hiding things from her, Ania," Ben told her gently. "She can sense anything."

Fighting back the instinct to offer another retort, Ania chose to purse her lips and look back at her mother silently. Leia met her gaze for a moment longer before taking a step toward her and, much to both Ania and Ben's surprise, wrapped her arms around her.

"Do not blame yourself, my dear," her mother whispered in her ear. "Mourn your father's passing, but do not wallow in guilt." With that, Leia patted her gently on the back of her head and stepped away. "Come to my apartment this afternoon," she instructed, the kindness now gone from her voice. "We will resume your training then."

"We'll be there," Ben said much to Ania's relief. She wasn't sure she would be able to speak if prompted to do so. She felt too choked up as she internalized her mother's advice and marveled at the warmth her mother's embrace had imbued within her.

Leia nodded and gave Ania one last encouraging look before turning to depart. The two stayed where they were as they watched their mother leave. Only once she was out of sight did they break out of their ephemeral paralysis.

"Come on," Ben said to her. "We should get to the Senate."

"Right," Ania said, having entirely forgotten about the pending CIH meeting. What could she say? She had a lot on her mind.

"She really loves you, you know," Ben said suddenly after they had begun walking toward the stairs.

"You think?" Ania asked, although she knew it to be true. She felt a bit uncomfortable with how differently Leia was treating her and Ben. Whereas she acted warm and compassionate toward Ania, she didn't demonstrate the same level of affection toward Ben. On the contrary, their interactions were rigid and defined by their brevity.

"I've never seen her act that way toward anyone else before," Ben told her as they exited the landing platform and entered the bustle of the space port.

"Not even with you?" Ania asked abashedly.

Ben snorted and shook his head. "No, not really," he said. "Although…" He trailed off, a distant look in his eyes as they walked through the crowd. "She's not very good at expressing herself emotionally," he concluded finally. "With you, she doesn't seem to have those inhibitions, though."

Ania chose not to say anything to this. Ben's tone was utterly inscrutable to her; she couldn't tell if he was upset or not about the disparate nature of their respective relationships with their mother. From what she could tell, he seemed to be apathetic about it all, but Ania had never prided herself on her ability to decipher the subtleties of social interaction.

The siblings fell into a comfortable silence as they made their way out of the spaceport and onto a shuttle leading them to the Senate. Ania watched curiously as Ben had to fend off several overly-zealous female admirers on multiple occasions. He looked especially disgruntled, clearly not appreciative of the unsolicited encroachments into his personal space. Would she be forced to endure similar irksome encounters in the future once her identity was revealed to the public? Ania had a tiny bit of experience with being a celebrity during her brief tenure as Tatooine's most-famed gladiator, but she was sure that the celebrity associated with being Leia Skywalker's daughter would be on a massively greater scale.

Upon reaching the proudly domed Senate building in the center of the city, Ania and Ben made their way to the latter's far more-spacious and well-varnished office. There, Ben called up the briefing and provided her with a spare datapad so that they could both read it in preparation for the CIH meeting later that afternoon.

At first she hadn't put much effort into reading the briefing. She was a slow reader – having only learned Aurebesh on her own with the assistance of her patient grandfather – and she didn't feel particularly inspired to make sense of the convoluted document considering her impending resignation. Her apathy quickly faded, however, when the briefing began discussing the specifics of the recent terrorist strikes in the Mid and Outer Rims.

"This is horrible!" she exclaimed, setting the datapad down on the desk forcefully as she was no longer able to continue reading the depressing report. "Can you believe this stuff?"

Ben looked especially grim as he too set his datapad aside. "Unfortunately, I suspect this report is understating the extent of the First Order's crimes," he said plaintively.

"Understating?" Ania repeated dubiously. "Just listen to the description of this one attack on Sullust. Fifty killed, a whole village wiped out by firing squad! Mass rape and violence! How could they be understating this?"

"The intelligence service has been known to withhold information," Ben said with a shake of his head. "This whole government is dominated by naïve fools who don't want the galaxy to know how badly the New Republic is struggling."

"What do you mean?" Ania asked, shocked by Ben's attitude. Wasn't he the poster boy for the New Republic? How could it be that he of all people was disenchanted with it?

"People are afraid, Ania," he told her darkly. "They're afraid of another war. The War of the Rebellion and the Clone Wars before that left horrible scars across the galaxy. That's why pacifism is such a dominant philosophy nowadays. People don't want another war and will do anything in their power to hide evidence that suggests one is coming."

"But I thought you were a pacifist?" Ania said.

"Ostensibly, yes," Ben said with a shrug. "But only because it's politically infeasible not to be one. Zorq and his hawks all come from historically chauvinistic planets so they can get away with it, but most others can't. Especially not me considering who my grandmother is."

Ania blinked a few times as she attempted to process this. Politics could be so befuddling at times. Why couldn't people just say what they felt and support positions which they believed in?

"So you think the First Order is more dangerous than this report suggests?" she asked.

"I'm sure of it," Ben said confidently.

"Then what are we going to do?" Ania asked nervously.

Ben smiled thinly. "I don't know if you heard, but our mother is a very adept military mind," he said, prompting Ania to roll her eyes. "As long as we give her the resources she needs, the First Order won't stand a chance. It's my job as head of the CIH to push that legislation through, but that won't be easy due to the reasons I just explained to you."

Ania nodded, finding herself becoming increasingly impressed with her brother's political expertise. He may claim not to like politics, but it was clear to her that he thrived in that arena.

"Damn!" Ben exclaimed suddenly, startling Ania. "We're going to be late! The assembly room is on the opposite side of the building!"

Following his example, Ania stood up out of her seat and pushed the chair in. Suddenly, a sly smile emerged as an idea hit her.

"I'll race you there," she said.

Ben quirked an eyebrow at this suggestion. "Race?" he repeated. "Why would I do that?"

"As part of our training," Ania said without hesitation. "Mom wants you to get in shape, you know."

Aggrieved, Ben huffed at this. "I am in shape!" he insisted.

"Absolutely," Ania agreed readily. "A round one."

Snorting in a mixture of humor and indignation, Ben walked around the desk toward her. "Round or not, I have longer strides than you," he pointed out. "It really wouldn't be fair."

"Is that so?" Ania asked, smirking.

"I know it won't be," Ben said. "Because on top of that, I have a head start on you."

Ania blinked a few times in confusion. "Head start? You don't have a –"

"Yes I do!" Ben sang as he rushed toward the exit.

"Hey!" Ania yelled, stunned that he would pull such a juvenile stunt. "Get back here!"

* * *

**Author's Note: I figure that from now on I'll start updating this story twice a week rather than once a week. Maybe even three times, who knows. I've got plenty of unpublished chapters, so why not. Hopefully reading this story can help you stave off the boredom while we all hunker down. Stay safe and stay inside! **


	18. Disenchanted

Chapter 18 – Disenchanted

Ben's breath was ragged and his heart felt like it was racing a mile a minute after having ran across the entire Senate building. "Okay… okay," he wheezed, coming to a stop in front of the entrance to the committee room and pressing his hand against the wall to stabilize himself. "You… you win." His neck lolled forward as he took a few more moments to catch his breath.

"But I thought it wouldn't be fair?" he heard Ania's smug voice say. "You have such longer strides!"

Ben looked back up and gave his triumphant sister a dirty look. "Very funny," he sneered. Ania was leaning casually against the same wall Ben was currently propping himself against. It seemed that unlike him, she wasn't out of breath in the slightest. On the contrary, Ben saw no evidence that she had exerted herself whatsoever.

"Ah, Senator Skywalker, it's good to see you."

Startled, Ben pushed himself off the wall and spun around to see a tall, grey-haired woman standing a few feet away from him with her hands held behind her back. She was extremely thin to the point that Ben considered her skeletal, especially in comparison to Ania who was standing right next to her. Her sunken cheeks and prominently protruding collarbones were downright perturbing to him.

"Senator Chamylle," he greeted, attempting as best he could to keep his voice even despite still being short of breath. "How are you?"

"As well as one can be on such a grim day as this," the Chandrilan senator responded in her typical, drawling speech. "It's going to be a bloodbath in there," she added, gesturing to the door to the committee room. "I hope you're up for the task."

"A bloodbath?" Ania repeated, clearly bemused. "Why?"

Chamylle glanced at Ania for the first time and quirked an eyebrow. "Forgive me, I don't believe we have been acquainted," she said, peering down at the much smaller woman with a curious expression.

"I'm Ania," Ania said at once, extending her calloused hand to shake Chamylle's bony one. "I'm the, er… I'm the junior senator from Arkanis."

"Oh," Chamylle said, releasing Ania's hand. "And you are a member of _this_ committee?" she asked, sounding incredulous.

Ania tilted her head, clearly taking offense to the senior senator's tone. "I am, as a matter of fact," she said, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

Chamylle glanced at him with an amused smirk which Ben did not reciprocate. "I must say, I am surprised," she said, returning her attention to Ania. "This is one of the most esteemed committees in the entire Senate. Your party members must have great faith in you to elect someone so young to the post."

"I have no party," Ania said tartly, her jaw clenched as she stared back at Chamylle with a defiant expression. "I was selected by the Vice Chair herself to fill a vacancy."

"I see," Chamylle said, elevating her chin slightly so as to project an even more condescending attitude toward her diminutive colleague. "Well, I must be going," she said after another moment of consideration. "Senator Skywalker, I will see you in the chamber."

Ben nodded curtly to Chamylle, taking umbrage with her lack of a comparable farewell to Ania. She seemed to be upset too, because as soon as Chamylle walked away she spun toward him looking incensed. "What the hell was that?" she asked him in an angry whisper. "What a bitch!"

"Senators tend to be quite elitist, especially those from the Core Worlds," Ben told her. "Don't let it get to you, that's just the way things are around here." Ania scoffed and shook her head, craning her neck down the hallway where Chamylle had disappeared down. "Hey," Ben said, reaching out and placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. Ania looked around quickly to meet his eyes. "Nobody will treat you like that ever again," he said. "Not after they know who you are."

Ania smiled faintly at him. "You're right," she said. "But it's still frustrating! She had no right to treat me that way just because of my age and where I'm from!"

Ben sighed and nodded in agreement. Hand still on her shoulder, Ben guided her around so they could walk toward the committee room together. "People get an inflated ego when they're in power," he told his frustrated sister. "It's regrettable, but it's more or less unavoidable."

"What about you?" Ania asked him. "Do you have an inflated ego?"

Ben chuckled and glanced down at her. "About some things," he said with a grin.

"Oh, I don't think so," Ania told him as they entered the boisterous committee room. Senators and aides of all species and creeds were milling about in anticipation for his arrival. Not wanting to be overheard, Ania took a step toward him and got up on her toes. "You have a good heart, Ben," she whispered in his ear. "You're nothing like these other senators."

Ben smiled appreciatively at Ania as she stepped away from him. Noticing that they were garnering some attention, he quickly wiped the affectionate expression from his face and stepped away. "Thank you, Senator," he said with false gravitas. "I'll take your opinion into advisement."

Ania giggled, not bothering to put up a façade for their colleagues on account to her impending resignation. Ben wished he could be so insouciant, but knew he couldn't. There was much more at stake for him than there was for Ania. If he were to resign, it would send shock waves throughout the whole galaxy.

"I'll see you after the meeting, Ben," Ania told him as she started walking away toward her seat. "Good luck."

Smiling subtly as he watched her walk away, Ben finally shook his head and turned around as well. Disregarding the curious looks he was receiving, Ben made his way toward his elevated podium at the head of the hall. Ascending the three stairs to his seat, Ben set his satchel on the desk in front of him and pushed his hair out of his face as he looked up.

The long room was dominated by two separate sets of benches which ran along the left and right walls. While there was no official seating assignment, the senators tended to orient themselves by ideology and party affiliation. Because of this, the right side of the hall was jam-packed with his political allies: the pacifists and so-called 'Amidala Liberals.' The benches on the left side of the hall were far sparser. That was where Zorq and his hawks had chosen to seat. Looking over their way, Ben saw Ania seated by herself toward the back of the hall, distinctly aloof from her soon-to-be-erstwhile senatorial colleagues. Their eyes met for a moment and Ben gave her a sympathetic nod as if to say _don't worry, this will be over soon. _

With that, Ben looked away and grabbed the gavel which was rested on the desk in front of him. Pounding the gavel against the sound block, he instilled an abrupt silence on the chamber. "Senators, this committee is now in session," he said, setting the gavel aside and looking up to meet the collective gaze of his colleagues. "We are convened here at the behest of the Chancellor who asked us to discuss the developments pertaining to the terrorist strikes in the Mid and Outer Rims. The floor is open to discussion."

And thus the debating began. Ben remained impassively neutral throughout the majority of the session, electing to watch from his podium as the senators arguments grew more and more vociferous. Unsurprisingly, Zorq was clamoring for an increased military presence in the Mid Rim and for the expansion of the New Republic's fleet.

"Such a proposition is ludicrous!" someone protested from the right end of the hall.

"On the contrary, Senator, it is your intransigence and steadfast denial of the severity of the situation which is ludicrous!" Zorq fired back cogently. Ben arched an eyebrow as he watched the zabrak senator closely. He was quite surprised to find that he was in agreement with more or less everything which Zorq was saying. While his proposals went a bit too far for Ben's liking, he couldn't deny that the notoriously jingoistic senator from Iridonia was acting rationally.

"Senator Skywalker, what say you?"

Ben turned to the summon, eyebrows raised in surprise. It was quite rare for someone to ask the chair directly for their opinion. Such a move was indicative of the burgeoning desperation of the pacifists. No doubt, they were hoping for him to shoot Zorq down like he had done many times in the past.

He had no such intentions of doing that today, however.

"Senators, I fear the dire developments in recent weeks have rendered the proposals of my esteemed colleague from Iridonia pragmatic," he said. He paused as the right side of the hall collectively inhaled in shock. Sparing a glance over toward Zorq, he saw that the zabrak senator was blinking rapidly in disbelief. "While I do not endorse his call for a fifty percent increase in military expenditure, I believe the exigency of the situation warrants a substantial increase."

The right side of the hall exploded in outrage at this proposition. Ben waited patiently for the uproar to die down as he glared down at his colleagues with a stolid frown. In spite of his phlegmatic exterior, Ben's heart was pounding furiously inside his chest. He knew taking such a position was a colossal risk, especially in light of his previous positions. Would he be able to survive such a drastic policy switch?

"Order!" Ben roared finally, smashing the gavel several times until the clamor finally died down.

"Senator Skywalker, have you consulted your grandmother on this proposition?" a senator asked him.

Ben's face turned taut as he looked away. The news of his grandmother's death had not been made public yet as Ben had intended on revealing that information to the press in tandem with the announcement that Ania was his sister.

"My grandmother is not a member of this chamber," Ben decided to say finally, his voice stern so as to bely his bereavement.

"But Senator –"

"I move to submit a suggestion to the Senate for the expansion of the military budget by twenty-five percent in the next fiscal year," Ben interrupted in a booming voice, determined to quell any further questions about his grandmother.

"Twenty-five percent?" a senator on the right exclaimed. "That's enormous! What would you have to slash from the budget to make that work?"

"Twenty-five percent is not enough!" Zorq suddenly chimed in, pounding his fist on the bench for emphasis. "Such an insignificant increase would be entirely ineffective!"

"Insignificant?" an incredulous senator repeated. "You're delusional Zorq! And so are you, Skywalker, if you think that is feasible!"

"It may not be feasible, but it is necessary," Ben retorted coolly. "War is coming, Senators. If you were able to read the intelligence briefing this morning and still think that conflict is not inevitable, I am afraid it is you who is delusional."

"How dare you!"

Once again, the right side of the hall erupted in objection to Ben's impudence. Closing his eyes, he rubbed his temples wearily as he waited for the deafening noise to die down for a second time.

"Order!" he called for after a full minute. Unlike last time, however, the senators did not comply with his demand.

"I call for a vote of no confidence!" a clarion voice suddenly called out. Spinning his head toward it, Ben saw that it was Senator Chamylle.

"Seconded!" several voices concurred at once.

"Wait –" Ben tried to say, but he was cut off when the right side of the hall began chanting.

"Hold a vote! Hold a vote! Hold a vote!"

"Order! Order!"

"Hold a vote! Hold a vote! Hold a vote!"

Ben set aside the ineffectual gavel and got to his feet. "I cannot call a vote for a baseless proposition!" he bellowed, his voice instilling a modicum of calm over the rambunctious proceedings. "On what grounds do you call for this vote of no confidence?" he asked Chamylle icily.

"Conflict of interest!" Chamylle exclaimed at once.

"What conflict?" Ben asked, perplexed as much as he was indignant.

"Your mother!" another senator proclaimed. "You want to embezzle this administration's funds toward her!"

"That's absurd!" Ben protested. "You elected me to this position one year ago fully aware of this supposed conflict of interest."

The senators disregarded his logic and began chanting once again.

"Hold a vote! Hold a vote! Hold a vote!"

Sitting back down, Ben slouched back in his chair as he turned his head to the left to find Ania in the crowd. She looked outraged, her brow furrowed and her jaw clenched angrily as she seethed at the senators on the opposite side of the hall. Feeling his eyes on her, Ania turned to meet his gaze.

"Hold a vote! Hold a vote! Hold a vote!"

Who knew pacifists could be so vicious?

* * *

"I can't believe them! They're complete morons! All of them!"

Ben nodded absently in agreement as he stared blankly at his desk. Ania was pacing agitatedly in front of him in his office, her powerful strides causing the floor to shake and his seat to vibrate.

"They all read that briefing!" she said, spinning and pointing a finger at him. "They all know what's happening! How can they just sit there and do nothing?"

Ben shrugged as he looked up languidly at his irate sister. "I warned you, Ania," he said in a sullen voice. "They're afraid."

"They're not afraid, they're cowardly!" Ania retorted. "None of those fools know what fear is. Not like I do. And certainly not like the victims of the First Order do! People are dying, and they're too craven to do anything about it!"

Ben was about to express his agreement when the doorbell to his office suddenly rang. Both he and Ania looked away down the hallway at the noise.

"Who's that?" Ania asked.

"No idea," Ben said, having not expected any visitors this afternoon. "Let's find out, shall we?" Without bothering to get up to answer the door, he merely reached across his desk to a small control panel and pressed a button to open the door. "Come in!" he called out down the hall to his mysterious guest.

Heavy footsteps proceeded the arrival of the last man Ben had ever expected to see in his office: Senator Zorq.

"Zorq?" Ben said, his surprise so great that he forgot the formalities.

"No need to stand up," the senator from Iridonia said with a smirk. Ben blinked a few times and remained seated firmly in his seat. Glancing at Ania, Zorq's smirk transformed into a frown. "What are you doing here, Senator?" he asked her.

"I, uh… I was just…"

"No matter what she's doing," Ben interrupted, putting a merciful end to Ania's floundering. "The real question is what are _you _doing here, Zorq?"

Zorq looked away from Ania and narrowed his eyes at him. "I figured it would be prudent for us to talk after the spectacle earlier this afternoon," he said.

"And why would that be?" Ben asked coldly. He didn't care whether Zorq was here to gloat or to genuinely discuss his proposals, Ben just wanted to be alone with his sister right now. He had never felt so disillusioned with the political process as he did right now; he just wanted to quit and leave it all behind to train as a Jedi.

"When you get booted off your podium tomorrow, I want you to join me on the left side of that hall," Zorq said, taking a seat despite not being asked. Leaning forward toward him, Zorq placed his fist on the desk. "Together you and I could be powerful allies, Skywalker," he said.

"You think?" Ben asked, arching an eyebrow skeptically. "I'm finished, Zorq. Can't you see that? Everyone who ever supported me turned against me."

"So what?" Zorq said, pounding his fist against the desk emphatically. "History will prove them to be fools when the First Order comes knocking on the door of the Inner Core. They can turn a blind eye now since the attacks are so far away, but soon things will change. Soon the people will support us."

"There is no us, Zorq," Ben said with a shake of his head. "I'm not a hawk."

"Nor are you a pacifist," Zorq pointed out.

Ben shrugged and glanced up at Ania who was watching them with her arms crossed. "I'm a pragmatist," Ben conceded. "I support what's right."

"And you know that what's right is fighting back against these terrorists!" Zorq said enthusiastically. "Join me, and together we can do that!"

Ben considered this impassioned invitation for a moment before leaning away from Zorq. "No," he said flatly. "I won't join you."

"Why not?" Zorq asked, visibly surprised by his decision.

"I'm stepping down from my committee position tomorrow morning," Ben said. "I'll never be able to get anything done in the CIH with the right having such an overwhelming majority. The only way to proceed is to bypass them completely."

"Bypass them?" Zorq repeated curiously as he too pulled himself away from the desk and sat up straight in his seat. "You mean through the Senate itself?"

"That's right," Ben affirmed. "The CIH is technically only an advisory body. Any individual senator can present legislation to the Senate if he or she chooses."

"But without the support of the CIH –"

"I don't give a damn about that, Zorq," Ben interrupted brusquely. "I don't care how many times my bills get shot down, I'm going to keep presenting them until one gets through."

"You're playing a dangerous game, Skywalker," Zorq warned. "You might as well be committing political suicide by ignoring conventions like this."

"Yeah, well I'd rather be a martyr than a bystander," Ben said sharply. With that, he abruptly stood up out of his seat. "If you will excuse me, Senator, Ania and I are on our way to an appointment," he said. Technically, this wasn't a lie since they were supposed to meet their mother later that afternoon to resume their training, but that wasn't for at least two more hours. "Ania, let's go."

"Senator, wait!"

Ben had just taken Ania's arm and had made his way toward the mouth of the hallway leading toward the exit when Zorq stopped him. Craning his neck back to look at the burly zabrak, Ben kept his body facing toward the exit so as to demonstrate his eagerness to depart.

"I just want to say that I admire your courage," Zorq told him cordially.

Ben contemplated Zorq's genuine countenance for a moment before nodding. "Thank you, Senator, but it's not courage," he said. "It's duty."

* * *

Ben and Ania arrived at their mother's apartment about a half hour later. Not even bothering to ring the bell, Ben let himself in with a quick glance at the retinal scanner. He knew his mother wouldn't be home until much later, so he figured they might as well wait inside. Being early suited Ben just fine as it gave him some time to work on drafting the press release for tomorrow morning.

He was seated at the kitchen table typing away on his datapad while Ania milled about the apartment, inspecting every corner of her mother's place of residence with the utmost fascination. Every now and then Ben would glance up from his work to watch her. It was so endearing to him to see how reverent she was of their mother. The purity of her admiration for Leia was a beautiful thing for him to witness.

Because of that, Ben was immeasurably glad that Leia hadn't given Ania any cause for disappointment. She was being everything Ania needed her to be: a caring and compassionate yet also stern and authoritative mother. If Ben was being frank, he was baffled by how well his mother had been handling everything. It seemed Ania's return had instilled a sense of purpose in her which kept her going in spite of the losses of her husband, brother, and mother. Leia was demonstrating a type of mental fortitude he never knew she was capable of.

Yet it wasn't just this fortitude which impressed Ben, but also her ability to love Ania in spite of what she had done. Ben meant what he had said to Ania earlier that morning: he had never seen his mother act as affectionately with another person as she did with Ania; not toward Han, not toward Luke, not toward Padmé, and not even toward him. For whatever reason, Leia felt uniquely comfortable with expressing her love for Ania.

It wasn't because she happened to love her more than anyone else. He knew that wasn't the case. Although he couldn't explain why, he knew that his mother loved her two children equally. Perhaps he could sense it somehow. Regardless, he knew that Leia loved him just as much as she did Ania. Therefore he was entirely comfortable with how differently she treated him and Ania. On the contrary, in a convoluted way he could even interpret it as a compliment. Leia clearly knew that Ania required her support and affection far more so than Ben did. As far as she was concerned, Ben was entirely self-sufficient. And he was, to an extent. While he did appreciate the rare moments when his mother did express affection toward him, he didn't require it like Ania did. He had been loved all his life whereas she had never been; it was only fair that Leia devote the majority of her maternal energies toward her long-lost daughter.

Ben was contemplating this when Ania suddenly entered the room and walked over toward him, a luminescent holobook pressed against her chest. "What do you have there?" he asked, pushing his datapad aside as Ania took a seat next to him at the kitchen table and rested the holobook in front of them.

"There are some pictures in here," Ania said, sounding a bit wistful as she pressed the cover of the holobook. "Have you ever seen these before?"

Ben shook his head as he scooted his chair closer to the table. Projected from the surface of the holobook was a three-dimensional portrait of a much-younger version of their mother. The picture rotated slowly allowing them a complete perspective of the portrait.

"She's so beautiful," Ania whispered after the picture had made a complete rotation. Holding out her hand, Ania stopped the rotation so she could look at young Leia's countenance head on.

Ben smiled, watching Ania's expression as she stared back at her mother's picture. Ania was utterly enraptured, her dark eyes sparkling as she leaned forward and placed her chin in her hands. Swiping forward, she moved on to the next picture.

"Who's that?" she asked, pointing to the woman standing at Leia's side in the picture. Ben hesitated, remembering a similar interaction he had with Rey when they had been walking down the Senate hallways. She had been so cheerful, holding onto his hand with her left and pointing at the various plaques with her right as they made they meandered down the empty halls…

"Ben?"

"Sorry," Ben said shaking his head as he returned his attention to the picture in front of him. "Oh, that's Senator Mothma," Ben said upon inspecting the refined woman at his mother's side. "She was a good friend of both Mom and Grandma." He paused, the mention of his grandmother producing an unwanted wave of emotion within him. "She passed away a few years ago, I think," he managed to say, his voice a bit thick.

Ania didn't seem to notice his moment of melancholy as she was too engrossed with the picture to pay him any heed. "That's a pretty dress," she commented, gesturing to the elaborate gown Leia was wearing in the picture. "Does she have a lot of dresses?"

"Mom? I don't think so. She doesn't dress up much."

"I've never worn a dress before," Ania said glumly. Surprised by this confession, Ben quirked his eyebrow and gave his sister a quizzical look. He never would have expected Ania of all people to express such a great interest in something as frivolous as dresses, but perhaps that was merely because she had never been given the chance.

"I'm sure we could rectify that," Ben said therefore. "Mom's got to have some lying around somewhere."

"You think?" Ania asked, her eyes shining as she turned to him. Ben bit back a snarky comment and nodded. "I'd love that," she said, clasping her hands together in front of her chest. Suddenly, she cleared her throat when she seemed to realize that Ben was giving her a strange look. "I mean… that might be fun," she amended hastily. Lowering her hands, she quickly swiped to the next picture. "Oh," she said, inhaling sharply at the image in front of them.

It was their parents; they were holding each other's hands as they looked at each other with radiant expressions which Ben found to be almost cloying. Judging by their outfits, Ben reckoned it was their wedding day. His father was wearing a sleek grey suit and his typically unruly salt and pepper hair was combed and parted. His face was illuminated by a broad smile as he looked down at their mother who was wearing a ruffled light blue dress.

Watching Ania out of the corner of his eye, he saw that for the first time she wasn't staring at Leia. This time around, she had eyes only for her father. "I killed him, Ben," she said hoarsely, her lower chin beginning to tremble as she continued to stare at Han's ebullient expression. "I killed my own father."

Ben swallowed hard, not sure what to say. During his moment of deliberation, Ania lowered her head and began to cry. "Hey," Ben said, instinctively reaching out and wrapping an arm around her. "Don't cry. Remember what Mom said? You can't let yourself feel guilty."

"How can I n-not?" Ania asked, tears still streaming as she looked up at him with glistening eyes. "I did it. Me! It was me who st-stabbed him in the heart!" Bowing her head once more, Ania covered her face with her hands and continued to weep. Ben watched for a moment longer before pushing his chair so that it was right next to Ania's. Arm still wrapped around her shoulder, Ben pulled her in toward his chest and stroked her hair gently as she cried. "Why can't you just hate me?" she asked, her voice muffled as she spoke into his chest. "It would be so much easier if you just hated me."

Ben sighed as he looked up. That's when he saw her standing a few feet away at the entrance to the kitchen. His mother had evidently arrived without either of them noticing. She was dressed in her typical military garb, indicating she had just returned from work. Standing stiffly with her hands behind her back, Leia watched the two of them with a somber expression.

"We won't hate you, Ania," Ben whispered to his sister while making eye contact with his mother. "We never have and we never will."


	19. Enemies

Chapter 19 – Enemies

Ania cried for about a minute longer when she finally pushed herself away from his chest. Wiping her eyes, she sniffled loudly as she sat back upright in her chair. It was then when she looked straight ahead and saw her mother staring back at her. Visibly startled, Ania practically jumped in her chair and made a strangled squealing sound.

Amused, Ben stifled a laugh while Leia smirked good-naturedly. "Is that how you greet me?" she asked as she took a step into the kitchen and set her briefcase down on the table.

"I… I'm sorry," Ania apologized quickly. "I didn't know you were here."

"Clearly not," Leia quipped as she sat down opposite them. "What are you looking at there?"

Ania swallowed nervously as she looked down at the still-active holobook. "I'm sorry," she said again. "I shouldn't have –"

"It's quite alright," Leia interrupted, raising her hand to stop her. Smiling thinly at her flustered daughter, Leia reached out and pulled the holobook closer to her. "I haven't seen that picture in a long time," she commented as she watched the image of her and Han rotate slowly in front of her. Her smile turned wistful as she looked up from the picture and toward them both. "My past should not be a mystery to either of you," she said, although Ben could tell she was primarily speaking to him. "You don't need to apologize for wanting to know more."

"Sorry," Ania mumbled. "I mean, okay," she amended hastily when Leia gave her a pointed look.

Leia contemplated her daughter for a moment longer before looking down to deactivate the holobook. Picking it up off the table, she stood back up and beckoned them to follow her. "Come," she said, concise as always. "It's time to resume your training."

Ania glanced at him as they followed their mother's suit and got to their feet. "Don't you want to tell her what happened?" she asked him in a hushed voice.

"Tell me what?" Leia asked, her back to them as she walked away.

Ben bit his lower lip as he looked back at Ania. "Come on," he murmured. "Let's follow her." Pushing their chairs in, Ben and Ania walked around the kitchen table and made their way after their mother. She had crossed through the living room and had walked down the hallway which led to her bedroom. Instead of entering the bedroom, however, she took a turn down a smaller hall which led to a room Ben had never been permitted into.

"What's in there?" Ben asked, excitement building within him as Leia turned the old-fashioned metal door handle. He had asked her on several occasions what was in this room, but she had never so much as given him a hint. All he knew was that she used to retreat into this room whenever her episodes got bad.

Leia glanced behind her to look at him. "I'm afraid you're going to be disappointed, Ben," she said as she opened the heavy door with a deafening creak. Ben and Ania followed her into the room and he frowned the moment he entered.

"There's nothing here!" he exclaimed, head swiveling about as he confirmed that the room was completely devoid of furnishings. That being said, it was an impressive room. It was perfectly circular with a high domed ceiling. A curved window ran along the entire perimeter except for where it was interrupted by the door behind him. He assumed that on a bright day the whole room would be awash with light, but since it was nighttime, the room was quite dark. That darkness was amplified further still when the door sealed itself shut behind him with an ominous boom.

Ben blinked a few times as he adjusted to the semidarkness. "Is there a light somewhere?" he asked, feeling somewhat uncomfortable all of a sudden.

"The only light you need in this room comes from yourself," his mother told him vaguely. "Take a seat," she instructed, preventing Ben from asking her to expound upon this statement. Frowning, Ben glanced at Ania and shrugged. The two sat down cross-legged next to each other as their mother did the same a few feet away. "Now," she said once they were all settled on the floor. "What did you want to tell me?"

"Oh," Ben said, having momentarily forgotten about his horrible day. "That."

"That," Leia repeated, raising her eyebrows curiously. "Whatever it is, it doesn't sound good."

"Well, it's not," Ben said moodily. He hesitated, glancing down at his knees as he felt too ashamed to look his mother in the eyes. "The CIH turned against me this morning," he mumbled.

"Turned against you? What does that mean?" his mother asked.

"I tried to push through a movement calling for increased military spending in response to the recent terrorist strikes in the Mid Rim, but the pacifists rejected it," he said.

"And?" Leia asked, knowing that there was more to the story.

Ben faltered, too humiliated to confess what had happened. "They called for a vote of no confidence," Ania said for him. "They're holding the vote tomorrow."

Leia tilted her head back and took a deep breath. "Who is responsible for this?" she asked, her tone laced with steel.

"Chamylle," Ben said at once, prompting Leia to snarl and look away sharply.

"I've always hated that woman," she growled. "How she and Mothma were ever colleagues is beyond me." She bit her tongue and looked back at him. "I'm sorry to hear that, Ben," she said, her voice sounding more contained this time. "But perhaps this room can provide you some relief."

"The room? How?"

"This, my children, is my meditation chamber," she said grandly, flourishing her hand as she gazed up toward the domed ceiling. "In this room, you will learn how to let go of your emotions and find tranquility in the Force."

Ben and Ania shared a quizzical look, each of them somewhat perplexed by this grandiloquent statement. "Um… why?" Ben asked finally.

Leia looked back at him sharply and quirked an eyebrow. "Why what?" she asked. "Meditate?"

Ben squirmed a bit under her scrutiny. "I guess," he mumbled. "I mean… how is meditation going to help us with say, defeating the Sith?"

Leia smiled at him before abruptly standing up. "A lightsaber may be your most crucial weapon, but the Force is your most vital ally," she began to lecture as she paced around them like she had the night before on the Falcon. "Only through the fusion of both the physical and metaphysical aspects of your training will you become a true Jedi Knight." Ben tapped his fingers against his knee in anticipation as his mother made a complete revolution around them both. "Ania, you are far more advanced than your brother in the physical dimension," she said, nodding toward her earnest daughter. "Ben, on the other hand, you are much more attuned to the metaphysical aspect of the Force even if you aren't aware of it yet," she concluded, turning to face him.

"I don't understand," Ben said. "How can I be attuned to something without even knowing what it is?"

In spite of the dark lighting, Ben could see his mother's eyes glint at this question. "A very poignant question, Ben," she complimented him as she resumed pacing. "How can we make sense of the incomprehensible? Because at its core, that is what the Force is."

"Incomprehensible?" Ben asked.

"Precisely," Leia said from behind him. "The Force defies logic. It is not a concept which can be defined through numbers or explained by science. For it is the fundamental tension which is responsible for the sustenance of the universe itself. Seeking absolute knowledge of the Force is an exercise in hubris and vanity."

"Not for your father, though," Ben pointed out, recalling Leia's earlier comments about him.

"Quite right, Ben," Leia said as she stopped in front of them once more. "The ghost of Anakin Skywalker is, in a way, the human representation of the Force itself. He retained his identity, however. Therefore he is at the same time both your grandfather and the embodiment of the Force."

"Okay," Ben said slowly as he tried to wrap his head around this massive information.

"For the rest of us, however, the Force is not something we can ever fully understand," she concluded. "For a true Jedi, however, this matters not. Whereas the Sith seeks to obtain knowledge of the Force in order to enhance her own powers, the Jedi has no such nefarious ambitions. A true Jedi Knight understands their place in the Force and allows the Force to unveil its mysteries as it may."

"I… I guess I still don't understand," Ben confessed.

"And nor should you," Leia reassured him. "The purpose of this lesson is not to get you to understand, but rather to get you to appreciate that some things don't have to be understood." Smiling wryly at his bemused expression, Leia got down to the ground once more and sat cross-legged directly in front of him. Scooting forward, she placed her hands atop his on his knees. "I want you to close your eyes," she told him softly. "Close your eyes and allow your surroundings to disappear."

Feeling slightly uncomfortable with her proximity, Ben complied with her instruction nevertheless. Exhaling out his mouth, Ben closed his eyes and allowed himself to let go. His mother's soft touch on his hands kept him grounded, yet every other sensation – whether it be the slight chill of the air on his neck or the cool of the metal floor beneath him – seemed to drift away. There must be something about this room which enabled him to obtain such an absolute state of tranquility without hardly even having to concentrate.

"Good," his mother's voice said, the word emanating from all around him rather than from directly in front of him where he knew her to be. "You feel calm. At ease." Ben nodded. "Now identify what is the source of that calm."

"The source?" Ben asked. His mother didn't respond, causing Ben to frown. What did she mean by that? It could be frustrating how vague she was at times…

"Ben, concentrate."

Ben nodded, purging the distracting thoughts from his mind. Taking another deep breath, Ben let himself relax for a few more moments as he further ingratiated himself in the calm sensation.

"There's a sort of… buzzing," he said finally, his voice distant and detached as if he hadn't even spoken at all.

"Good," his mother said again. "What else?"

Another breath.

"It's an energy," he said with greater confidence. "A… tension."

"And you? What are you?"

The question made no sense, but Ben knew how to answer it regardless. "I'm one with it," he said, smiling faintly. He felt a gentle warmth percolating throughout his entire body; contentment intermingled with the calm as he achieved something which he didn't even know how to define.

Transcendence, perhaps.

"I want you to reach out now, Ben," his mother's soothing voice said. "Reach out into that energy and tell me what you find."

Ben did as she asked despite not knowing how. He now knew what she meant about not being able to understand the incomprehensible. Ben couldn't explain what he was doing or how he knew how to do it, but that didn't matter in the slightest. He was simply acting.

"I feel something… familiar," he said finally.

"Familiar how?" Leia asked.

"I… I don't know," he said haltingly. "It just… is."

"What else can you tell me?"

Ben frowned, scrunching up his forehead as he concentrated harder. None of the words he tried to come up with adequately explained what it was he was experiencing. The tendrils of energy which surrounded him seemed to bend around a point in space… although it wasn't really _in _space. It was as if it was on a separate plane. Regardless of its orientation, Ben could tell that it was bright. And so he said that.

"It's bright."

"Bright how?"

Frustrated, Ben clenched his jaw as he tried to come up with the right adjectives. "It's warm," he said finally. "But not hot. It's just kind of… pleasant."

"A pleasant warmth?"

"Yeah," Ben said, nodding his head. "It… it's beautiful in a way." Leia said nothing, prompting him to elucidate this statement. "It's calling me, I think," he said. "It wants my…"

"Your what?" Leia asked.

"My help," Ben said, suddenly sure of this. "It _needs _my help."

"Why does it need help?"

"I… I don't know," Ben stammered. "It's just beckoning me."

"Very good, Ben. You may retreat."

"Wait, there's something else."

"Something else?"

"Something… colder."

The energy around him seemed to shiver as the warmth he had once been relishing vanished in a flash. His mother's voice suddenly sounded much more distant, as if she were calling to him from miles away.

"Ben, retreat," she commanded him.

"It's calling me too," Ben said, the hair on his arms sticking up as he was pulled closer toward the source of the cold. "It needs me."

"Ben, don't –"

"I have to help it!"

"No you don't. Retreat."

Ben ignored his mother's demand and persevered further. The cold sensation was no longer unpleasant to him. On the contrary, it was inviting. He could disregard the bitter chill as an overwhelming sense of responsibility pushed him onward. For whatever reason, he felt obliged to help it…

_Ben. _

"Ben, stop."

_Ben! _

"I'm ordering you –"

His mother's voice was drowned out abruptly by a loud clanging sound.

"What was that?"

Ben swiveled his head toward this new voice. He no longer felt cold – instead he felt extremely hot. His face was dripping with perspiration and he was suddenly panting, gulping in huge breaths of shockingly dry air. He felt as if he was burning up.

"Yeah, I don't know about this, Maz," the same voice said skeptically. "You do realize where we are, right?"

"Would you shut up, Solo?" a female voice said. "We are in the right place."

Ben's eyes widened as he ceased backing away. Solo? As in… Han Solo, his father?

The distinctive roar of a Wookiee all but confirmed his suspicions. "Chewie, I'm with you," he heard his father's voice say. It was louder now, and Ben could tell that he was getting closer.

_Dad! _he wanted to yell. _I'm over here! _But Ben remained stationary, unable to move as he remained hidden. What was happening? Where was he?

"Maz, this is an abandoned Imperial Star Destroyer," his father's voice said. "There's nobody here!"

"Then who is that?"

Ben looked up sharply to see a curious alien staring directly at him. She was extremely short and had a round, orange head with a set of comedically large lenses over her eyes. Ben's interest in this stranger quickly evaporated, however, when the figure of his father emerged from behind the alien. When their eyes met, Han's widened and his eyebrows went shooting up his forehead.

"Stay away from me!" he heard himself yell in a voice that sounded nothing like his own. He was engulfed in terror as he scrambled away. But why? This was his father!

"Wait! Come back!"

He was running despite wanting nothing but to stop. He couldn't stop himself from fleeing, however. It was as if he had no control over his limbs.

"Stop! We don't want to hurt you!"

Liar! They were slave traders! They were going to take him away!

He came to an abrupt stop when he realized he was cornered. How he knew this, Ben had no idea since he couldn't see any of his surroundings. He turned around slowly and bent his knees, determined to at least put up a fight.

His father emerged from around a corner and held up his hands. "Look," he said. "I'm not armed."

"Then what's that?" he asked, pointing to the blaster in his holster.

Han looked down. "Oh," he said. "Forgot about that." Slowly, he reached down with his left hand toward the holster, causing Ben to stiffen with fear. "It's alright," Han said as he unclipped the holster and dropped the blaster to the ground. "Here," he said, kicking the weapon over toward him. "You have it."

Ben watched as the blaster skidded over toward him and came to a stop at his feet. He didn't reach down and grab it, however. His fear had begun to enervate as a budding curiosity lowered his inhibitions.

"What's your name?" Han asked him.

Ben found himself smiling faintly. "I'm Rey," he said.

For a fraction of a second, a barely perceptible flash of disappointment crossed Han's eyes. Lowering his hands, he clasped them in front of his chest. "Hello, Rey," he said gently. "My name is Han."

The moment he said this, the scene abruptly changed. The oppressive heat disappeared and suddenly Ben was struck head on by a brisk gust of wind. Holding a hand up to his eyes, he crouched down behind something which provided him some relief from the gale.

Blinking a few times as he adjusted to the new scene, Ben saw a large person with his back to him. "What's going on?" he asked this person.

"I… I'm not sure," the person said without turning toward him. "He's talking to someone?"

"Who?" he asked urgently.

"I don't know."

"What are they saying?"

A long silence ensued as Ben grew increasingly frustrated with his companion. What was going on? He had to know!

"Ben, what are they talking about?" he asked more forcefully this time. Ben? As in…

The person turned around and Ben inhaled sharply when he saw himself looking back at him. "A5 can you make sense of this?" his doppelgänger asked.

Ben's eyes widened as he realized where he was. No, he didn't want to be back here. He knew what was about to happen. No, no, no…

The other version of Ben turned around once more. Biting his tongue, Ben stood up against his better judgment to get a better view. There he was – his father – standing several meters away talking to someone whom he couldn't see. He knew who it was, of course, but he also didn't. Wait… what?

Ben was contemplating this bizarre realization when it happened. The moment of the lightsaber tearing through his father's chest was just as terrible the second time around. An initial wave of shock quickly transmuted into unmitigated rage as Ben found himself leaping to his feet. That's when he saw her, active lightsaber still in hand as she wrenched it out of his father's chest. Ben stared back at Ania with the utmost hatred, his whole body trembling with fury. He had never experienced rage as absolute as this. It consumed him, causing his blood to curdle and his vision to turn red.

_What do you feel? _

"I hate her! I hate her so much!"

_Good. _

"I want her to suffer!"

_And she will. _

"Who is she?"

_She is our enemy. She must be destroyed. _

"I will destroy her! I won't fail you, Grandfather."

_Yes, child. The heir of Vitrius will pay. We shall get our revenge! _

A grating cackle barraged against his eardrums as Ben felt himself falling backward. He was engulfed in darkness as he descended further and further…

"Ben!"

His eyes flew open as he inhaled sharply. Looming over him was the very woman whom he sought to destroy.

"You," he said viciously.

Ania's brow furrowed in confusion at the virulence in his tone. Blinking once, Ben felt his anger recede as he reoriented himself. He was lying on his back in the meditation chamber, his teeth chattering violently as his whole body was drenched with bitterly cold sweat.

"Ben, are you alright?"

This was his sister. She was concerned for him. He didn't hate her. How could he?

"I… I'm alright," he said disingenuously as he struggled into a seated position.

"Here," Ania said as she took off her leather jacket and wrapped it around his shoulders which were quaking as he continued to shiver. "You scared us, Ben."

"What… what happened?" he asked, looking up toward his mother who was standing above them. Her arms were crossed in front of her chest as she peered down at him with an inscrutable expression.

"Why don't you tell us?" she asked him.

Bemused, Ben glanced at Ania. "What do you mean?" he asked, looking back up at his mother as he brushed his damp hair out of his face.

Leia contemplated him for a moment longer before kneeling down in front of him. "Tell me what you saw, Ben," she demanded. "It was her, wasn't it?"

"Her?" Ben repeated. "I don't know what you're –"

"Don't lie to me, Ben," Leia interrupted sharply. "I need to know what you saw."

Ben gulped nervously as he considered his options. He didn't want to tell his mother what he had seen because he knew what she would say. She would tell him that Rey was a lost cause and that he had to shut her out. But she wasn't! Ben knew that she wasn't. She was just… misguided.

"I will see it for myself if you do not tell me," Leia said, her voice low as she leaned closer toward him. Ben's shied away in fear as he stared back at his mother's darkening eyes. In that moment, he suddenly saw his mother in a new, ominous light. This was not Leia Skywalker before him, but Darth Vitrius. She was terrifying.

"Okay," he said, the tremors wracking his body no longer a result of the shivering which had long since abated. Perhaps sensing his extreme discomfort, Leia pulled away from him and stood back upright. Ben exhaled in relief as she turned her back to him.

"The bond you share with that girl is synonymous to the one you share with Ania," she said as she gazed out the window toward the city skyline. "Why is that, Ben?"

Once again, Ben glanced over at Ania who was watching him with a concerned expression. "You know why," Ben said, clenching his jaw as he returned his attention to his mother. "She's my sister. Both of them are."

"She is not your sister," Leia growled as she turned back around toward him. Ben's determined expression faltered when he saw the look in her eyes.

"I disagree," he managed to say, yet the high pitch of his voice negated the intended defiance.

"What did you see?" she asked him once again. "What was it that this _sister _of yours was doing?"

Ben pursed his lips as he looked away from his mother's fiery gaze. "She was… remembering," he said slowly.

"Remembering what?"

"The night her father was murdered," he said, regaining his courage as he turned back toward Leia.

His mother narrowed her eyes and took a step toward them, her shadow encompassing Ania and himself. "What else?" she asked.

"She told Sidious that she wants to get revenge," Ben said, his voice heavy with dread. "She wants to kill Ania."

He could practically see the anger flare up within her as Leia's eyes narrowed contemptuously. "Do you see now?" she asked him. "That girl is not your sister. She is your enemy."

Ben faltered at this as he recalled the terrible voice – Sidious, he presumed – telling Rey a similar thing. _She is our enemy, _he had said in reference to Ania_. She must be destroyed. _Leia may have despised the man, but it was clear to him that she had been influenced by her former master Sidious.

"Do you understand, Ben?" Leia asked with an edge to her voice.

Ben clenched his jaw and nodded. "Yes, Mother," he said coldly. Despite his ostensible acquiescence, however, Ben knew better than to concur with his mother's sentiments. He was only telling her what she wanted to hear to placate her. Leia was not right to call Rey his enemy, just as Sidious was not right to tell Rey that Ania was her enemy.

Neither of them were each other's enemy. The only enemy that mattered was Sidious. If they were to defeat him, they would all have to come together.

And if they failed to do that, all would be lost.

* * *

**Author's Note: Thank you all for reading up to this point. This marks the end of the first segment of this story. Chapter 20 will pick up three years later. **


	20. War!

Chapter 20 – War!

_Three years later _

_WAR!_

_First Order Invades Alderaan, Chancellor to Resign._

_Emergency Session of Senate Convened to Debate Next Course of Action._

Ben was seated at his typical spot by the desk in his senatorial office. Right hand propping up his weary head, Ben scanned the depressing headlines on the datapad which he was holding with his left. He wished he could say that he hadn't seen this coming, but he was afraid that he had long foretold of this terrible day. Unfortunately, his senatorial colleagues hadn't been as prescient as he.

The First Order had struck the Inner Core. The war had finally begun. For three whole years, Ben had been fighting an uphill battle against the ever-intransigent Senate. He alongside his friend Zorq had been clamoring for the New Republic to do something about the First Order which had been growing exponentially as scores upon scores of Outer and Mid Rim planets pledged themselves to their cause. In spite of this, the Senate refused to act, however. It seemed as long as the First Order kept out of the Core, the Senate was content to let them do as they may.

The First Order's decision to launch a full out invasion of Alderaan, a prominent Core World planet, was therefore a clear statement: they wanted war. The Senate, it seemed, was finally willing to act, but Ben feared it was far too late. Contrary to his incessant requests, the military budget had been slashed rather than expanded with each successive fiscal year. He suspected this move was some convoluted attempt at appeasement. The First Order would surely cease their belligerent ways if the New Republic showed that it didn't want a fight and was willing to negotiate! Right?

They were all fools. The New Republic had the greatest military mind in the galaxy at their disposal in his mother, yet they had steadfastly refused to grant her adequate resources. She had been stuck fighting an impossible battle. The fleet was entirely too small to repel the First Order from the Mid Rim in which they were now deeply and irrevocably entrenched. While the strike on Alderaan would finally convince the Senate to devote funding toward increasing the fleet, would it be in time? The shipyards on Kuat could only produce so quickly. What if the First Order got there first? What would they do then?

A familiar squeaking sound caused Ben to look up from his datapad. "Master Skywalker, your sister is here," the recently-restored A5 informed him.

In spite of his foul mood, Ben smiled appreciatively to his friend. "Thank you, A5," he said to the droid. "You may let her in." A5 had taken far longer to repair than either he or Ania had expected. With Ben's schedule filled up from morning to night most days with both his senatorial obligations and his Jedi training, he had struggled to find the time to work on the project. Yet finally, he was fully functional again. It was a great relief for Ben to have all his friends by his side during this dire time.

All but one, that is.

He had not heard nor sensed a thing from Rey for nearly three years now. His mother refused to allow him to reach out to her through the Force despite the strength of their bond. Time and time again he had requested that she let him try, but she unequivocally refused. It was too dangerous, she would say. Rey must be considered as a lost cause. She was Sidious' puppet now. Well, Ben knew better. Rey was still out there. He could feel it. She needed his help.

Ben cleared his mind of this troublesome subject when A5 returned with Ania following behind him. Smiling wanly, Ben was suddenly struck with a memory of Ania entering his office in a similar fashion three years ago when he had asked her to tell him what she knew about his mother's mysterious past.

So much had changed since then to both of them. From a purely physical sense, neither of them looked like they had back then. For Ben, the difference was far starker. Whereas he had once been slightly overweight and desperately out of shape, the new Ben was considerably leaner and fitter. With Ania's guidance, Ben had shed himself of his baby fat and had put on a significant amount of muscle in a very short period of time. He supposed it was genetic. Both he and Ania were predisposed to having powerful physiques, he just had never realized that potential until now.

Ania looked different as well. Her skin was no longer tanned on account to living on cloudy Chandrila for the past three years, and the pale complexion made her look all the more like her mother. Besides her skin, the most notable difference was her hair. When he had first met her, she had sported a cut which terminated just above her shoulders. Now, however, she had let her straight brown hair grow out several feet. She and Leia, who had comparably voluminous locks, had seemed to bond over their hair. Ben felt as if every time he saw his sister, she was wearing a new, oftentimes devilishly complicated hairstyle which her mother had done up for her. Today, however, Ania's hair was simply braided in a single plait which cascaded down to her lower back.

The second thing Ben noticed after her hairstyle was her Jedi Robes which, once again, made her look very much her mother. They were black as usual since that was her favorite color. Ben could understand why; it fitted her perfectly. He could unabashedly admit that she looked simultaneously intimidating and beautiful whenever she wore the color. Ben was contemplating her striking attire when his eyes caught a glint of metal at her waist. There was her lightsaber – the blade of Sidious which had been reforged for her purposes. He always felt a bit jealous when he saw Ania carrying her lightsaber with her. He had his own of course, but his mother wouldn't permit him to carry it on his person whenever he was at the Senate. It was as much a distraction for his colleagues as it was a danger for him. He could understand why she had reservations. On more than one occasion, Ben had contemplated drawing his weapon on his colleagues whom he so fervently despised. Yes, it was a good idea that he didn't carry his lightsaber with him.

"Are you going to the Senate chamber right now?" Ania asked him when she stopped in front of his desk.

"I am," Ben said as he pushed the datapad away from him and stood upright. He too was sporting Jedi robes – cream-colored rather than black, but otherwise identical in design to Ania's. Because he couldn't flaunt his lightsaber, he chose to wear the robes as often as he could so as to remind everyone who he was. He wasn't just some senator. He was a Jedi! The thrill had yet to wear off three years after his training had begun.

"I'll go with you," Ania said as Ben walked around his desk toward her. "There's something I need to talk to you about."

"Very well," Ben said as he gestured for A5 to stay where he was. He and his sister walked stride for stride as they exited the office and took a left turn down the hallway toward the elevator. "Any word from Mom?" he asked after a few moments.

Out of the corner of his vision, he saw Ania shake her head. "She's been too busy, I suppose," she told him. "Last I heard, she was in orbit around Coruscant waiting for the fleet to amalgamate." Ben nodded, attempting to discard of his looming sense of dread. After news had struck of Alderaan's invasion, Leia had sprung into action to assemble a strike force to liberate the planet. The First Order had been swift, however, and now it seemed as if it would require a full-scale invasion to repel them from the planet. Now she was awaiting the Senate's decision. If they voted for war like he suspected they would, she would have authorization to begin her offensive against the First Order's much larger yet far less sophisticated fleet. He knew his mother was more than up to the task, but he feared for her nevertheless. She would no doubt be the First Order's primary target in the coming conflict.

"What was it you wanted to talk to me about?" Ben asked as they reached the elevator.

Ania glanced behind her back before pressing the button to the elevator. "I don't want to say too much in public," she whispered to him. Intrigued, Ben leaned down toward her so that he could hear better. "But I was recently contacted by someone."

"Could you be more specific?" Ben asked.

"He's an old acquaintance of Luke's," she told him. "I believe he has some valuable information. That's all I can say."

Ben raised his eyebrows as he stood back fully upright. "That is interesting," he said, realizing at once what she was telling him. Their uncle Luke had completely disappeared three years ago after his the destruction of his Jedi temple and his mother's death. Leia had insisted that he would return to them in time, but Ben and Ania were skeptical. They had seen how devastated Luke had been. They were fairly sure that Luke would not return under his own volition. They would have to find him and bring him to Leia.

They had long since come to the agreement that they would have to do this eventually. While they appreciated that their mother was exceptionally strong, they had their doubts whether she could take on Sidious and the rest of the Sith all by herself. They knew that Luke and Leia shared a powerful Force bond much like their own. The two of them together were infinitely more powerful than either one of them individually. Besides, they both heard what their grandfather had said three years ago.

_The combined strength of the Skywalkers must assemble to defeat the Sith._

They would be fools if they chose to disregard his advice. Was he not the voice of the Force itself? He was quite literally the ultimate soothsayer, and on this point he was uncharacteristically clear: Luke had to return home if they were going to defeat Sidious. There was no other way.

The pair made the remainder of their trek down to the Senate chamber in complete silence as they both contemplated the road ahead of them. They were quite certain that the rise of the First Order was intrinsically linked with the return of the Sith. Now that the First Order had taken its big step against the New Republic, would the Sith be making their move against them as well? If so, would they be ready? They had only been training for three years. That didn't feel like enough for Ben. He wasn't ready.

"You're coming with me, right?" Ben asked once they reached the entrance to his Senate pod.

At once Ania shook her head. "I shouldn't," she said, taking a step away. "I'm not a part of –"

"It doesn't matter," Ben interrupted. "I'd like for you to be there. Please?"

Ania faltered as she looked back at him. He understood why she was uncomfortable, having resigned from the Senate three years ago. For the past three years after her resignation and the revelation that she was Leia Skywalker's long-lost daughter, she had been the subject of intense media scrutiny and gossip. It made Ben's blood boil whenever he read the headlines about her. They made all sorts of baseless accusations about her, but the most common and inflammatory one was that she wasn't Leia's daughter at all.

_Ania 'Skywalker': the Galaxy's Greatest Con Artist_

Ania insisted that she didn't mind, but Ben was always irate whenever he saw headlines such as these. He had tried to counteract them by showing the media how close he and his sister were by inviting her to accompany him on his public functions. This seemed to make Ania uncomfortable, however, given her proclivity to introversion, so Ben had stopped insisting that she accompany him so often. Now, however, he wanted her by his side for purely personal reasons. He very well knew this could be the biggest day of his political career. It would be a great relief for him to at least have her by his side for it.

"Okay," Ania acquiesced after a moment of deliberation. "Just don't do anything embarrassing, okay?"

"Embarrassing?" Ben repeated with a frown as he beckoned her to follow him. "What are you talking about?"

"I don't know, you do embarrassing things all the time," Ania said as the door sealed behind them and they made their way into the pod. "Like call me your baby sister to a bunch of reporters. Remember that?"

"Well that's what you are, aren't you?" Ben asked with a facetious grin.

Ania rolled her eyes. "I'm twenty-one years old, Ben. I'm not a baby."

"Well to me, you'll always be my baby sister," Ben said in a saccharine voice as he tried to pinch Ania's cheek.

"Ugh!" she exclaimed as she slapped his hand away. "You can be _so _annoying."

"Well I'm pretty sure that's in my job description as an older brother," Ben said as he turned away from Ania and looked out at the spectacle that was the Senate chamber. Hundreds upon hundreds of pods identical to his own were suspended in vertical rows which extended to the ceiling of the cylindrical room. In the center of the chamber was the Chancellor's pod. The office of Chancellor had been stripped of most of its power after his grandmother had left the post, and the humble pod was indicative of that fact as it looked identical to all of the other pods in the chamber. That could all change today, however. If the Senate voted for war, they would no doubt also be forced to expand the executive powers of the Chancellorship. They would have to be careful, however. Everyone knew what had happened the last time a Chancellor had been given too much executive power during wartime.

"Senators, welcome," an amplified voice suddenly projected itself throughout the chamber. Standing up from the Chancellor's pod was not the Chancellor himself, having resigned from his post a few days prior, but the Vice Chair of the Senate Ahsara Tan. Ben was well acquainted with the Togruta Vice Chair and he had a great deal of respect for her despite his dismal opinion of politicians in general. He would have been perfectly content with electing Tan to the Chancellorship, but unfortunately there was a long precedent of keeping the offices of Chancellor and Vice Chair separate.

"This emergency session of Senate has been convened to discuss the First Order's invasion of Alderaan," Tan said in her characteristically soothing voice. "Would the delegation from Alderaan like to comment to open these proceedings?"

Ben turned his head as the Alderaanian delegation was propelled forward in the center of the chamber. The senator – a wiry, silver-haired gentlemen – got to his feet and stared back defiantly at the camera which was hovering in front of him.

"Thank you, Madame Vice Chair," the senator said in a rich, accented voice. "I would like to introduce my highly esteemed guest, the former Viceroy of Alderaan and hero of the Rebellion, Mr. Bail Organa."

The senators in the chamber collectively inhaled as Ben grasped the railing of his pod tightly and leaned forward. Was that really Bail Organa himself seated next to the Alderaanian senator? He'd have to be ninety years old by now!

"What's going on?" Ania asked him in a whisper. "Who's Bail Organa?"

"You don't know?" Ben asked, turning to give her an incredulous look.

"Obviously not," she said with a frown. "What's the big deal about this guy?"

Ben gaped at his sister for a moment before shaking his head. It wasn't her fault she didn't know these types of things, but Ben would have thought that everyone knew about Bail Organa. "He was a leading member of the Rebel Alliance," he explained as he watched the senescent Viceroy arduously get to his feet. "He and Grandma were really close friends, I think. I never met him, though. Or at least I don't think I did. Maybe I did when I was really young but don't remember."

"What's wrong with his face?" Ania asked as she stared at the picture which was being projected onto the screen in their pod. On top of the heavy wrinkles and blemishes on the man's weathered face, he also had a great deal of scarring which mangled the right side of his countenance.

"I don't know," Ben confessed. "He's always looked like that. Some kind of war wound, I think."

"Senators, thank you for inviting me to your chamber," Organa began, putting an end to he and Ania's hushed conversation. In spite of his old age, Organa's voice was still rich and sonorous and Ben got the feeling he could project it throughout the chamber without the assistance of the microphone before him. "As you all know, my home world of Alderaan has been invaded by Imperial sympathizers masquerading under the pseudonym of the 'First Order.' I speak before you today to issue a dire warning. These despicable terrorists who lay claim to my home world are no different than the men and women whom I fought against during the war against the Empire." Organa paused, his eyes scanning the chamber which was fully silent in a sign of utmost respect for the legendary Rebel. "Pacifism is a noble doctrine," he resumed after nearly fifteen seconds of silence. "Yet in times such as these, we cannot remain idle. We must galvanize our spirit and mobilize our forces. We must fight back against those who yearn for a return of tyranny. We must do what must be done to ensure the survival of this great republic. Esteemed senators, the time for war has come."

With that, the great Bail Organa collapsed down into his seat amidst thunderous applause. Ben clapped his hands together until his palms stung as he watched the entire Senate stand in unified solidarity. He had never before witnessed such a spectacle.

After about two full minutes of deafening noise, the Vice Chair finally stood to instill order. "Viceroy Organa, thank you," she said as the applause finally began to die down. "If no other delegation has any further comments, this chamber will now vote on the resolution for war against the First Order."

Of course no one spoke up. What else was there to say? Knowing this, Tan didn't even wait a half minute before smashing her gavel once more to begin the voting.

"This won't take long," Ben murmured to Ania as he pressed the green button which materialized on his screen in front of him. Ben was proved right when the Vice Chair called for order after a mere five minutes. Unsurprisingly, not a single senator voted against the resolution, although a fair share did elect to abstain.

The next order of business after the passing of the declaration of war was the nomination of candidates for the Chancellorship. Ben's hands felt sweaty as he continued to grasp the railing of the pod. This was the moment he had been waiting for ever since the previous government had resigned.

"Senators, I invite you to submit your nominations for the office of Chancellor," Tan said. At once, Ben spoke.

"I nominate Senator Zorq from Iridonia for Chancellor," he declared loudly. At once he heard several voices second his nomination. Exhaling out of his mouth, Ben finally released the railing and took a step back. The chamber was buzzing with whispers as he felt hundreds of sets of eyes on him, but Ben didn't care. He knew Zorq was the right choice for the office. Besides, he knew that when Zorq was elected – and he most certainly would be elected – he would appoint him as his foreign minister, a post Ben especially desired.

A few other senators were nominated, Senator Chamylle most notable amongst them, but Ben felt confident that Zorq would emerge victorious. "Come on," Ben said to Ania once the nominees had been set and the debating began. "We don't need to be here for this."

Exiting the pod, he and Ania made their way down the curved hallway toward the elevator which they took down to the surface level. They were walking side by side away from the Senate chamber when a voice called out to them both.

"If it's not Leia Skywalker's children."

Ben stopped abruptly and turned around to see the enfeebled Bail Organa wheeling his way toward them in a wheelchair. Following behind him from a decent distance was the rest of the Alderaanian delegation.

"Viceroy," Ben said with a deep bow. "It is an honor to meet you."

"And I you," Organa said as he extended his hand to him. Upon shaking it, Organa turned to look at Ania. "And the younger one," he said, his eyes glancing down as he inspected her outfit. "I must say, you look very much like your mother when I first met her."

"You know our mother?" Ania asked as she shook his outstretched hand as well.

"Oh yes," Organa said with a smile. "I've known Leia a long, long time. So long, in fact, I knew her before she was even Leia, if you catch my meaning."

Ben and Ania shared a look. "Yes, we do," Ben said, his curiosity piqued. "How did you two meet?" he asked the venerable Viceroy.

"Well let's see," Organa said as he leaned back in his wheelchair. "I believe the first time I met young Leia was at Echo Base on Hoth just after the Battle of Yavin." He paused, a distant expression in his eyes as he smiled wanly. "First thing she did to me was lift me in the air by my throat and strangle me for a good fifteen seconds."

"What!?" Ben and Ania exclaimed simultaneously.

"She took offense to something I said to her mother," he said, eyes twinkling in amusement to their reaction. "In retrospect, such treatment was entirely warranted, if not a tad excessive. The next morning, she came up to me and apologized. Padmé was so proud of her, she rushed over and gave her an enormous hug." Organa sighed as his ebullient expression waned. "I am so sorry about your grandmother," he told them in a weary voice. "She and I were close allies and even closer friends for decades. I hope this isn't insensitive of me, but may I ask why there was no funeral?"

Ben held his breath as he and Ania glanced at each other once again. Three years ago, he had made the vague announcement that his grandmother had passed away and that they would not be holding a public funeral. Leia had made it quite clear that she didn't want the real reason for her death to be revealed, and Ben agreed with her full-heartedly. Considering the political climate at the time of her death, Ben doubted anyone would have believed him if he told them the truth. Nowadays, it was still a bad idea to unveil the truth because it could inspire mass panic amongst the masses to learn that the Sith and more crucially, Sidious himself, had returned.

"We, um… we felt it best if the funeral was a family affair," Ben said finally, delivering the line which he had used to lie to the media.

"I see," Organa said, frowning. "Well, all I can offer you is my condolences. Your grandmother was a remarkable woman, as I'm sure you know."

Ben nodded solemnly. "I do," he said. Next to him, he could sense Ania's discomfort. He knew she still felt guilty about Padmé's death even if she hadn't been directly responsible for it. He also knew that she felt terrible that she had never been able to meet her grandmother. How could she not? Everyone she ever met told her that Padmé had been an amazing woman worthy of the utmost respect and admiration. It was so unfair that Ania had never been able to meet her.

"Anyway, forgive me for interrupting you on this busy day," Organa said after a heavy silence. "I wish you both best of luck in the days ahead."

"Thank you, Viceroy," Ben said as both he and Ania bowed once more. Organa smiled at them, sparing another curious glance toward Ania before spinning himself around and wheeling his way back toward the Alderaanian delegation.

Ben and Ania watched him retreat for a few moments before turning around themselves. "Let's talk in your office," Ania murmured to him as they began to walk away. Nodding, Ben bowed his head as he pushed through the crowds. While it had been an honor to speak with Organa, he didn't want to be interrupted by anyone else. He had too much on his mind to waste time chit chatting with politicians. On one occasion, he thought he heard someone calling his name, but Ben didn't slow down and they managed to make it back to his office without further incident.

"So who is this person who has information about Luke?" Ben asked once the door sealed shut behind him and they were ensconced in the privacy of his office. Ania didn't answer him right away as she pushed past him and rushed around his desk so that she could sit in his chair. "Hey!" Ben exclaimed. "That's my seat!"

Ania looked unimpressed as she leaned back in the comfortable chair and rested her feet atop the desk. "You get to sit here all the time," she said, resting her hands behind the back of her head.

"Yeah, because it's my chair," Ben said as he crossed his arms in front of his chest and frowned at her.

"Do you want to hear what I have to say or not?" she asked, quirking an eyebrow at him.

Ben's frown morphed into a begrudging smile as he shook his head. "This seems to be a common theme with you," he said as he sat down on the wooden chair opposite her.

"What? Teasing you with information so I can get what I want?" Ania asked him with a smirk.

"Exactly," Ben said. "But at least take your feet off my desk," he added, gesturing toward her polished black boots. Ania rolled her eyes at his fastidiousness yet nevertheless complied, leaning forward in his chair as she lowered her legs back down to the ground. "So," Ben said, leaning forward as well. "Who is this contact?"

"His name is Lor San Tekka," she told him. "Have you ever heard of him?" Ben shook his head. "He was apparently a close friend of Luke's," Ania explained.

"So does he know where he is?" Ben asked, getting straight to the point.

"It sounds like it," Ania said. "He told me he found a map which might lead to Luke's location."

"Might?" Ben asked.

Ania shrugged. "It's the best lead we have," she said. "It's worth checking out, don't you think?"

Ben furrowed his brow as he leaned back in his seat, his fingers interlaced in front of his mouth while he contemplated this information. "I suppose, but even so I can't be leaving the capital on a whim, Ania," he told her. "I'm about to be appointed foreign minister."

"This is more important than that, Ben!" Ania insisted.

"This is important too, okay?" Ben said. "Once my position is confirmed, I'll start working on a settlement which will ensure a ceasefire on Alderaan."

"A ceasefire? Ben, they invaded! Do you honestly think diplomacy is going to work with these thugs?"

"The First Order reached out to Zorq's office yesterday in anticipation for his election," Ben said, taking offense with Ania's lack of faith in him. "It's within their best interests to retreat back to the Mid Rim, anyway. They're overextended if they try to expand into the Core."

"Then why invade in the first place?" Ania asked skeptically.

"I don't know, Ania!" Ben exclaimed in exasperation. "Why does it matter? I'm needed here on the capital!"

"So you're a senator first and a Jedi second, is that it?" Ania asked him bitingly. "I thought you didn't even like being a senator. That you dreamed of being a Jedi all your life."

"It's not about what I like, it's about what is most urgent," Ben said, struggling to keep his tone even. For all her merits, Ania had never been one to understand the concept of duty. That was why she had been so willing to resign as senator whereas Ben had not. "And what's most urgent right now is the invasion of Alderaan, not Luke's whereabouts."

"Okay," Ania said, crossing her forearms on the desk in front of her and leaning in toward him. "Since you're so busy here, I take it you won't have a problem with me going alone?"

"Alone?" Ben repeated. "Absolutely not!"

Ania rolled her eyes and huffed angrily as she pushed away from the desk. "Why do you do that, Ben?" she asked him. "Why do you have to be so overprotective? You don't let me go anywhere alone!"

"Because it's dangerous!" Ben insisted.

"Too dangerous to drive to the shopping complex by myself?" she asked him. "Because you won't even let me do that!"

"That's because you're a terrible driver and you know it," Ben said, pointing a finger at her. "Remember what happened last time you went out onto the air lanes by yourself?"

Ania dismissed this with a wave of her hand. "Mom doesn't do this, you know," she pointed out. "Whenever I'm living with her, she lets me go anywhere I want by myself!"

"Yeah, well you're living with me right now, aren't you?" Ben said, frowning. After Ania resigned as senator, she hadn't been able to remain living in the Senatorial Apartment Complex. She had made it explicitly clear that she wanted to live with her mother, and Leia had been more than happy to oblige. Yet whenever Leia wasn't on Chandrila – which was quite often with the rumblings of war growing more ominous over the past three years – Ben insisted that she live with him in his apartment.

"You do realize you're my brother, don't you?" Ania said. "You can't control me, Ben. You're not my father."

"Well that's a sure good thing, isn't it?" Ben asked snidely. "That means I don't have to fear for my life whenever you're around." Immediately, Ben regretted saying something so crass, and he winced when he heard those words coming from his mouth. Ania's whole body stiffened as she stared back at him with a betrayed expression. "Ania, I didn't mean –" he tried to say, but Ania wasn't listening. Standing up, she pushed his chair aside violently and marched away. "Ania!" he cried after her, spinning around in his chair as he watched her leave. "Come back! I'm sorry!"

Ben was about to jump out of his seat and rush after Ania to offer a more heartfelt apology when the comlink on his desk began to vibrate. Growling in frustration, Ben stood up and walked around the desk so that he could answer it from his regular seat. "Yes?" he asked curtly upon activating the device.

"_The voting's over,_" the joyous voice of Zorq told him over the comlink.

Ben blinked a few times as he processed this statement. "Oh!" he exclaimed, having entirely forgotten about the ensuing vote. "And?"

"_Would you like to be my foreign minister, Senator Skywalker?_" Zorq asked. Ben nodded absently as he looked up toward the hallway where Ania had stormed away. "_Skywalker?_" Zorq asked after a long silence.

"It… it would be an honor, Your Excellency," Ben managed to say upon clearing his throat. "Sorry, I'm just a bit… a bit overwhelmed."

"_That's quite alright, my friend,_" Zorq said cheerily. "_So am I, if I'm being frank. But we don't have time to dillydally. Get to the Chancellor's office ASAP. We have some work to do._"

"Very well, sir," Ben said in a stronger voice as he forced himself to discard of his qualms about Ania. "I'll be there right away."


	21. Premonition

Chapter 21 – Premonition

"… _the First Order is willing to negotiate with your government in the case of your election to the Chancellorship, Senator Zorq. The subject of Alderaan's fate and the future of this conflict are all open to discussion should you be willing to offer some concessions. We are entirely willing to withdraw all forces from the Core for the right price. I am sure such an arrangement could be mutually beneficial for us. If you are a reasonable man as I suspect you are, you will meet me at the edge of the Alderaanian system in the coordinates I have forwarded to you. Good day, senator, and best of luck in the coming election._"

"So what do you think, Skywalker?" Zorq asked him after the recording flickered out. "Should I go?"

Ben pursed his lips as he contemplated everything the man had said in the message. "Who is this ginger-haired sleemo?" he asked after a few moments of silence.

"His name is General Armitage Hux," Zorq said, looking up at the standing Ben from his seat in the vast albeit extremely sparse Chancellor's office. "From what I can tell, he's the man in charge of the invasion of Alderaan."

"What makes you think you can trust him?" Ben asked.

"Nothing," Zorq admitted readily. "That's why I'm asking you."

Ben began to pace on the other side of Zorq's desk as he thought about this. "He's presenting himself from a position of power yet what he is proposing indicates he is negotiating from a position of weakness," he mused, speaking more to himself than to Zorq. "To me, it seems like he's overextended and wants a good excuse to retreat from Alderaan. If you meet with him and offer concessions, he gets everything he wants."

"So you would advise me not to meet with him?" Zorq asked.

"Not necessarily," Ben said as he looked up to meet the recently-elected Chancellor's gaze. "We can flip this arrangement on its head."

Zorq tilted his head as he leaned back in his chair. "Keep talking," he said.

"If my analysis is correct, Hux's hold on Alderaan is not as strong as we've been led to believe," Ben resumed. "I think we could agree to meet with him and see what he has to say. While we're doing that, we have the fleet approach from the opposite end of the system and launch a ground invasion of the planet."

Zorq blinked a few times as he processed this gutsy proposition. Ben watched him warily as he suddenly realized how brazen his plan sounded. By having him meet with Hux, he would be endangering the Chancellor's life should things go awry. Perhaps Zorq wouldn't appreciate his insouciant attitude toward his wellbeing.

"You know what, Skywalker?" Zorq said, standing up abruptly and pointing a finger at him. Ben swallowed nervously, sure that he had made a critical error. "You're sounding like a real zabrak right now."

"I… I am?" Ben asked cautiously.

Zorq's face broke out into a wide smile, his razor-sharp teeth practically glowing because of how white they were. "No regard for the risks! Fully committed in spite of the consequences! I love it!" Ben loosened up and let himself reciprocate the Chancellor's smile, a wave of relief washing over him at these words. "This could either be the best idea you've ever had, or the stupidest one," Zorq said, pounding his fist on the desk in front of him as he so often did. "But either way, I'm in!"

Ben's smile broadened as he nodded at Zorq. "Alright," he said. "Let's do this."

* * *

After having stormed out of her brother's office, Ania made her way to a shuttle which took her across the government plaza toward the Pyramid. Donning her hood, she managed to avoid all unwanted eyes during her commute. She didn't often go out in public on her own, but whenever she did she made sure her hood was up. It was both bizarre and terrifying for everyone to know her face, especially for Ania who preferred lurking in the shadows as opposed to dwelling in the light.

Upon arriving at the military headquarters, however, Ania no longer felt the need to veil herself. Whenever she was at the Pyramid, Ania felt safe. Nobody dared give her strange looks or talk ill about her to her face here. They all knew how protective their commander-in-chief could be of her daughter. Even so, she knew everybody was judging her even if they didn't express it. She understood why everyone was so skeptical about her true identity, but that didn't mean she wasn't fed up with it. It had been three years! When were people going to move on?

Today, however, Ania didn't have time to contemplate the irksome subject of her long-enduring infamy. The crowds peeled away from her as she marched purposefully down the marble hallways toward the hangars. Only when she arrived, however, did Ania realize she had made a mistake.

"Hey!" she called out to a scruffy-looking pilot who was brooding in the corner of the hangar with a discontented scowl. He was the only one around – the rest of the hangar was completely empty, devoid of both ships and people. "Where are all the X-wings?" she asked as she walked toward him. The man's eyes widened for a fraction of a second as he identified her. Blinking rapidly, he pushed himself off the wall and saluted hastily. "Stop doing that," Ania ordered brusquely. "I'm not your commanding officer or anything."

"Oh," the pilot said, lowering his hand and shuffling his feet awkwardly. "I, uh… sorry."

Ania rolled her eyes. "Are you going to answer my question?" she asked.

"Your…? Oh, right! Yeah, the whole fleet dispatched last week," he told her. "They went with General… I mean, with your mother to Coruscant."

"I see," Ania said, crossing her arms irritably. "Then what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be with them?"

"Er, technically yes," the pilot said sheepishly. "But I got docked a month back for reckless flying. I'm still on suspension."

"Reckless flying?" she asked. "What is that?"

"I'd rather not say," the pilot said as he looked down to his boots.

Ania furrowed her brow as she scrutinized the pilot before her. He had long, shaggy brown hair and a stubbly beard. Probing the Force gently, she could sense nothing but genuine remorse from him. Whatever he had done, he clearly felt bad about it. Or perhaps he merely felt bad that he had been caught. Ania's intuition wasn't refined enough to tell for sure.

"What's your name, pilot?" she asked him.

"Poe Dameron," he said, looking back up to meet her eyes.

"Nice to meet you, Poe," she said. "I'm… well, you obviously already know who I am. Can you lead me to a ship?"

"A ship?" Poe repeated. "Um… why?"

"Because I asked you to?" she said, hoping that he would grant her this based on her name alone. Unfortunately, it didn't seem like Poe was as pliant as she had hoped.

"I'm sorry, but I can't do that, ma'am," he said. "I'm already on suspension. If my superiors found out –"

"But what if your superior's superior found out that you denied me this request?" she asked pointedly. Poe gulped loudly when he realized what she was saying. "So, what do you say? Can you find me a ship or not?"

"I, uh… I can," he said slowly. "But I need to know where you intend to take it."

"Why?" Ania asked, narrowing her eyes.

"I can't let you go somewhere on your own if it's unsafe, ma'am," Poe said importantly. "It wouldn't be right."

Irritated, Ania closed her eyes and made a guttural growl. Why was it all these men were so sure she couldn't look after herself? She was a Jedi! She didn't need to be protected.

"Where I'm going doesn't concern you, pilot," she said.

"Then I'm not going to give you a ship," Poe shot back. "I'm sorry, ma'am, but I won't let you endanger yourself."

"You mean, you don't want to get in any more trouble?" Ania asked.

Poe winced at her trenchant, and no doubt accurate assessment. "That's a factor as well," he mumbled. When Ania sighed loudly, Poe raised his hands and took a step toward her. "Look," he said, glancing around to see if anyone was around. "I can give you a ship on the condition that you let me come with you."

Ania gave Poe a suspicious look as her hand instinctively hovered over her lightsaber. "Why would I do that?" she asked.

"I know you haven't been authorized for this," Poe told her. "And I'd wager a guess that your mother doesn't know about this little plan of yours. Am I right?" Ania clenched her jaw and didn't answer him. "I'm bored out of my goddamned mind here," he said suddenly. "Just let me go with you, and I won't tell a soul, promise."

Head inclined toward the taller pilot, Ania contemplated his earnest expression for a moment. "Okay, flyboy," she said, smirking. "You've got yourself a deal."

* * *

"Hey, Mom, you wouldn't happen to have heard from Ania this afternoon, have you?"

Ben had just gotten home after a long day with Zorq and the rest of his future cabinet. The moment he had returned, he knew that Ania wasn't here. But even though he couldn't sense her, he went searching through his apartment nonetheless, growing increasingly panicked with each passing minute.

"_No,_" his mother's voice said over the comlink. "_Should I have?_"

"Erm, no," Ben said as he closed the door to Ania's empty bedroom and made his way back toward the kitchen. "Just wondering."

"_Ben, what happened?_"

"Nothing!" he insisted all too quickly. "What makes you think something happened?"

"_Ben,_" his mother's voice said sternly. "_What happened?_"

Reaching the kitchen, Ben sighed loudly as he leaned against the counter and placed his hand to his forehead. "She's missing," he confessed.

"_What!?_"

At once, Ben winced and lowered the comlink away from his ear. He knew his mother was incredibly protective of Ania, even more so than he was. It was understandable, of course. She didn't want to lose her daughter like she had twenty-one years ago.

"Look, I'm sure she's alright –"

"_That's not good enough, Ben!_" his mother interrupted him, fear intermingling with anger in her voice. "_You have to find her! Do you have any idea where she could have gone?_"

Ben hesitated as he considered this question. Now that he thought about it, he actually had no idea where she had gone. He had never asked her where her mysterious contact was. "She came to my office this morning and told me that someone reached out to her saying they had information about Luke," he said eventually.

He heard nothing but static for a few moments as Leia absorbed this information. "_Who was this contact?"_ she asked finally, the vehemence gone from her voice for the time being.

"She said his name was Lor San Tekka," Ben told her.

"_I've heard the name,_" his mother said. "_Never met him, but I know he and Luke were close acquaintances._"

"Well that's good," Ben said, relieved that Ania's contact hadn't been a scam. "Anyway, she asked me to go with her to talk to him."

"_And you refused?_" Leia asked incredulously.

"I'm needed here in the capital, Mom!" Ben exclaimed defensively. "I just got appointed foreign minister! Something you don't seem to care that much about, I might add."

"_No Ben, I don't care,_" Leia said bluntly. "_Whenever I'm off planet, it is your job to look after your sister! That should be your primary task!_"

"She's a grown woman, not a child!" Ben insisted. "I shouldn't have to be her goddamn babysitter!"

"_You have to fix this, Ben," _Leia growled. "_You're going to find her and you're going to make sure she's safe. Do you hear me?_"

Ben shook his head. "I can't do that, Mom," he said with brazen defiance. "I'm leaving tomorrow morning, I can't go looking for Ania."

"_You're leaving? Where to?_"

"To the Alderaan system," Ben said. "Zorq and I are meeting with the First Order to negotiate a ceasefire."

"_Ben, no!_" Leia exclaimed. "_I won't let you! That's absurdly dangerous and entirely unnecessary!_"

"Is it?" Ben asked with a frown. "I could save thousands of lives! You think that's unimportant?"

"_Your sister is missing!_"

"Yeah, well that's her fault, not mine," Ben said tartly. "You may be able to order everyone else around, but you're not going to give orders to me. I respond to the Chancellor, not to you."

"_Ben, you –"_

Ben rudely cut the feed without letting his mother complete her sentence. Pocketing the device, Ben stared blankly ahead for a few moments with his jaw clenched. He had to confess, he didn't appreciate how disinterested his mother had been by his accomplishments. It wasn't a new realization, but he knew she cared about Ania more. That was fine. She'd never loved him like she loved her. He didn't care. Really, he didn't!

Pushing himself off the counter, Ben ran a hand through his hair as he stormed away toward his room. Purging his frustrations with his mother and his fears for his sister aside, he decided to concentrate solely on the task ahead of him tomorrow morning. It was in politics where Ben could actually make a difference, anyway.

* * *

Ania was hovering about a foot off the ground with her legs crossed and her hands rested on her knees. Her eye lids fluttered a bit yet remained shut as she projected herself into the Force. Meditation wasn't an art she felt especially adept at – especially in comparison to Ben who took to it right away – but she found herself much better at it when she focused intently on another person's Force presence through the Force. Typically she would focus on Ben or on her mother, but this time she was reaching out to someone else.

"Grandfather?" she asked. "Do you hear me?"

At once, Ania received a response. "_Always, my dear,_" the gentle voice told her. "_What need do you have of me?_"

"I need advice," she said.

"_I wagered as much,_" Anakin said. "_That's all I can really do, you know. Being dead has its limitations._"

Amused, Ania rolled her eyes beneath her shut lids. Her grandfather always had an odd, oftentimes self-deprecating humor which she found extremely endearing. "I think I might be making a mistake," she said. "Even if I do find Luke, how am I going to convince him to return? He barely even knows me!"

"_Do not worry about that, child,_" Anakin's soothing voice told her. "_Leave the convincing to me. All you have to do is find him, I will do the rest._"

"But he hates you," Ania pointed out, remembering her uncles virulent reaction to his father's ghost.

"_You don't need to rub it in, Ania,_" Anakin said, sounding hurt.

Ania laughed. "Well if you're so confident you can convince him, why do you need me to find him in the first place?" she asked. "Can't you just find him yourself?"

"_I don't know where he is,_" Anakin admitted.

"You don't?" she asked. "But I thought you knew everything! Can't you just find him through the Force?"

"_Alas, I cannot,_" Anakin lamented. "_Luke has cut himself off from the Force. He is invisible to me._"

"Oh," Ania said. A long silence ensued as Ania's thoughts drifted.

"_You are uneasy,_" Anakin observed finally. "_Why?_"

Ania pursed her lips as she contemplated how best to explain her source of conflict. "I… I got into a fight with Ben," she disclosed. "We don't fight that much, and I feel really bad about how I left things with him." She paused, her frown deepening as she remembered storming out of her brother's office. "I didn't want to do this without him, but he forced my hand."

"_Ben and you share a close bond, but that doesn't mean you have to do everything with him,_" Anakin told her calmly. "_You should always remember that you are not alone, Ania. You have friends by your side now._"

Ania smiled feebly at this. "Thank you, Grandfather," she said. "And I won't forget it. I know you're always there for me."

"_Indeed I am, but I meant it in the literal sense,_" Anakin said_. _"_You're not alone right now._"

"Huh?"

"Uh… are you floating?" another voice asked.

Startled, Ania's eyes flew open to see Poe staring back at her with his mouth hanging ajar. Concentration shattered, Ania fell back to the ground and landed on her backside with a rather deafening thud. "Ow!" she exclaimed, rolling over and writhing with pain as she grabbed at her lower back.

"Are you okay?" Poe asked, getting to his knees by her side.

"I'm fine," she grumbled, her cheeks flaming red with embarrassment as she struggled to her feet without Poe's assistance. Wincing slightly as she kneaded her back tenderly, she staggered toward the bench and sat down. "What's going on? Are we in hyperspace yet?"

Poe nodded as he looked down at her with a concerned expression. "Were you talking to someone just now?" he asked.

"Never you mind," Ania said sharply. "How long until we get to Jakku?"

"Couple hours at most," Poe told her, his brow still furrowed with concern. "This ship is top of the line."

"Really?" Ania asked skeptically as she looked around the dingy cabin. "This rust bucket is top of the line?"

"It's internal hardware is," Poe said defensively. "I remodeled it all myself."

Ania arched an eyebrow at him. Was he trying to impress her or something? Because if he was… then mission accomplished. Refurbishing this whole ship must have been a colossal undertaking. "Well I must say, it's a miracle this thing can even fly, much less surpass light speed," she said, resorting to snide as she so often did in uncomfortable social situations.

Poe frowned, clearly taking offense to her rudeness yet was too polite himself to confront her about it. An awkward moment passed as he rubbed the back of his head. "So are you going to tell me why you need to go to Jakku so bad?" Poe asked finally.

"No," she said laconically.

"'Kay," Poe said, clapping his hands together as he spun around. "Guess I'll go chill in the cockpit then."

"Wait!" Ania exclaimed perhaps too loudly. "You're leaving?"

Poe turned back and gave her an odd look. "Would you like me to stay?" he asked her.

Ania opened her mouth, but no words came. She wasn't going to say yes, obviously. She wasn't desperate or anything! But then again, she was feeling a bit lonely. She missed Ben…

Taking her silence as confirmation, Poe shrugged to himself and sauntered over toward the opposite bench. Taking a seat, he stretched his legs out as he rested his hands behind his head. He looked at her closely for a few moments, prompting Ania to gulp nervously as she absently wrapped a strand of hair around her thumb. What was this guy's deal? Why was he looking at her like that? She was only used to two different types of staring: the gawkers and the judgers. Poe, however, seemed to be neither. He just seemed genuinely and innocently curious.

After several uncomfortable minutes, Poe finally spoke. "If it means anything to you, I think it's horrible how you get treated by the press," he said. "It isn't fair for them to question you like they have."

Ania narrowed her eyes, instantly on guard at the subject of her identity. "I don't give a damn what they say," she insisted. "I know who I am. They don't."

"Well good for you," Poe said. "I don't know why anyone doubted you in the first place. You look just like your parents."

Ania bit her tongue and looked away sharply. "You, um… you know what my father looked like?" she asked in a small voice.

"Han Solo? Oh yeah, I met him once."

"You did?" Ania asked, eyes widening as she returned her attention to the pilot. "When?"

Poe suddenly blushed and seemed unable to meet her gaze. "It was a long time ago," he mumbled. "I was, uh… running with a different crowd back then."

"A different crowd?" she repeated.

"You know, people who are less… savory than I suspect you're used to."

Ania smirked at this. The subject of her backstory was not public knowledge, nor would it ever be. Poe had no idea that Ania used to mop the floors of the slimiest and decidedly least-savory individuals in the galaxy.

"Anyway, I met your father during a, uh… during a meeting," he said, hastily moving on from the subject of his own past. "He was a cool guy, that Solo."

"_I'm sorry. D-Dad, I'm so, so sorry." _

"_For what?" _

"_Forgive me." _

"Hey, are you okay?"

Ania unclenched her jaw and looked up, her eyes distant and stormy as she met Poe's solicitous gaze. "You should go back to the cockpit," she said gruffly.

Perplexed by this abrupt instruction, Poe quirked an eyebrow at her. "But –" he began to say, but Ania cut him off.

"Just go," she said. "Please," she added, unable to keep her lower lip from quivering.

Perhaps sensing her anguish, Poe nodded and stood upright. He gave her another funny look before departing, his boots clanging against the rusted metal floor as he retreated. Finally, the echoes of his footsteps faded away. The moment she was sure Poe was gone she fell apart. She hadn't cried about what had happened in a long, long time so perhaps she was merely overdue.

Would she ever get over this guilt? Ben and Leia insisted time and time again that it wasn't her fault, but she knew they didn't really believe that. They just wanted her to move on and be able to live without the burden of guilt. But she couldn't do that. This burden would always be with her, and she forever deserved to bear it.

_I'm sorry. _

_I'm so, so sorry._

* * *

_One day later _

"Hey, Skywalker. You okay over there?"

Ben inhaled sharply as he was jolted out of his thoughts by Zorq who was standing next to him.

"Huh?"

Zorq gave him a reassuring nod and patted him on the shoulder in an oddly paternal way. "Don't worry," he told him. "This will work. I can feel it."

Ben nodded absently as he looked back straight ahead toward the air lock. He hadn't in fact been thinking about the extremely dangerous gambit he and Zorq were about to pull. Instead, his thoughts had been about Ania. He could sense that she was in pain, and that gave Ben serious cause for concern. Was she in danger? Had he made a horrible mistake by letting her leave without him? And what would his mother do when she got her hands on him? Would she finally give in and give him a blast of that sweet Sith lightning? He knew she wanted to. Her self-restraint was actually quite impressive to him, but motherly love would only protect him for so long. He was a dead man when he returned back to Chandrila, wasn't he?

"Skywalker! Loosen up, man. It's going to be fine."

Ben cleared his throat and nodded. "Yeah," he said weakly. "It'll work." Perhaps it was in his best interest for it to fail, however. Surely being captured by the First Order would earn him some sympathy points in his mother's eyes. Maybe she'd even forget all about his insolence from earlier.

"Chancellor Zorq, the First Order delegation is ready."

"Thank you, Commander," Zorq said, reciprocating the salute of a soldier in white armor with orange markings on his breastplate. "You and a couple of your men follow with me and Skywalker. The rest of your company should stay on the ship. We don't want to alarm them."

"Yes, sir," the commander said with a bob of his head.

The logistics of this upcoming meeting were something to behold. Two massive capital ships had parked themselves directly next to each other in the outermost reaches of the Alderaan system. A small shuttle was connected to both ships via retractable durasteel cantilevers. It was in that shuttle – the so-called 'negpod,' or negotiations pod – where the meeting would be held as it served as a neutral ground between the two parties. In order to reach the negpod, however, the delegations would have to perform a somewhat-perilous spacewalk.

"Ready when you're ready, Commander," Zorq said, having already fitted his custom-designed helmet which made room for his prominent horns. Noticing that he had yet to place his own helmet on, Zorq gave him a little nudge. Nodding hastily, Ben raised the helmet and stuffed it on rather inelegantly.

"Ow," he murmured to himself, the metal casing slamming painfully against the bridge of his nose as he attempted to force the recalcitrant helmet on.

"Need some help with that, sir?" a voice from behind him asked.

"No," Ben said, feeling somewhat embarrassed as he finally managed to secure the helmet to his suit. "I'm good. Let's go."

"Are your carabiners fastened?" the commander asked him and Zorq.

"That they are, Commander," Zorq said, giving the carabiner at his waist a flick. "We're ready to fly."

"You seem a little bit too eager about this," Ben whispered, feeling extremely queasy by this point.

"I was born to spacewalk, Skywalker," Zorq said, giving him one of his patented, razor-sharp grin. "We zabraks belong amongst the stars."

"And we humans belong in carpeted rooms with air conditioning," Ben shot back with a tepid smile.

Zorq chuckled heartily at this comment. "Very true," he conceded.

"Opening the air lock in three… two… one."

With that, the air lock unsealed with a daunting hiss. Taking a step toward the precipice, Ben hesitated for a fraction of a second before following after Zorq into the abyss. Holding onto his carabiner for dear life, Ben turned around as he began belaying himself out toward the negpod. He watched with great apprehension as the cable connecting him to the Republic star destroyer unfurled as he floated farther and farther away. His vision through his helmet began to cloud up as he found himself hyperventilating.

_Hold it together, Ben, _he told himself sternly. _You're a Jedi! This shouldn't faze you! _

That was easy to say in theory, but when nothing but a flimsy rope separates you from the eternal void of space, it's hard not to panic.

"How you holding up, Skywalker?" Zorq's voice asked over the intercom.

Ben felt dizzy and deeply discombobulated, so therefore he said: "I feel great. Never better."

Zorq laughed boisterously once again. "Liar," he said.

Ben allowed himself to chuckle faintly as he shut his eyes tightly and waited for the horrible spacewalk to end. As he did this, Ben suddenly felt a horrible, gut-wrenching pain in his core. Grunting in surprise, Ben slackened his grip on his carabiner and he felt himself drift...

"Skywalker? Are you okay?" he heard Zorq ask.

Millions of voices were screaming in abject terror. The roar was louder than anything he had ever heard. The shrieks barraged his ears and vibrated through his whole body which was trembling with fear. Raw horror consumed him whole as he felt himself screaming alongside the millions beside him. The sky was illuminated with a terrible flash and suddenly everything went black…

"Skywalker! Skywalker!"

The screaming abated but the terror did not. He was gasping for air as he laid flat on his back in a bright white room. A man whom he didn't recognize was on his knees by his side with his hands interlocked over his chest while Zorq watched from above with a horrified expression.

"I… I'm okay," Ben managed to say, startled when the soldier began giving him chest compressions.

"Oh Force, Skywalker! You scared the hell out of me!" Zorq exclaimed as the soldier removed his hands from his chest.

"What happened?" Ben asked in a raspy voice, his throat feeling immeasurably dry.

"You stopped breathing!" Zorq told him. "Your goddamn heart stopped!"

Startled, Ben looked up at the soldier who nodded in confirmation. "I had a heart attack?" he asked the man.

"Seems like it, sir," the soldier told him. "You're lucky we were able to pull you into the negpod just in time."

Wiping his brow with the back of his gloved hand, Ben winced as he struggled upright into a seated position. "Really, I'm fine," he insisted as he waved off the soldier's offer to assist him.

"You must have had a panic attack," Zorq said, visibly flustered as he rubbed the top of his bald head. "But even so, you're too young to be having heart attacks like that, Skywalker!"

"It wasn't a panic attack," Ben said as he met Zorq's eyes. "It was a premonition."

"A what?" Zorq asked, utterly flabbergasted by this statement.

"Of what, I don't know, but whatever it is, it's bad," he said ominously.

"What do you mean? What did you see?"

"I didn't see it, I felt it," Ben explained despite knowing that it was impossible to truly get Zorq to understand.

"What did you feel, then?"

"Death," Ben said flatly. "I felt death." Zorq blinked in astonishment as he stared back at him with his mouth hanging ajar. "Something horrible is about to happen. I'm sure of it."


	22. Deceit and Disaster

Chapter 22 – Deceit and Disaster

Ania had been trudging along the path to the village in question on Jakku when she suddenly stumbled. She only barely managed to catch herself before falling face first into the sand. In spite of the oppressive early afternoon heat, Ania suddenly found herself shivering as a terrible cold washed over her.

"Ms. Skywalker? Are you okay?"

Brushing her hair out her face, Ania looked up to see Poe looking at her with that seemingly perpetual expression of concern etched across his chiseled face.

"I'm fine," she insisted automatically. "Just tripped, that's all."

Poe nodded as he held his hand up to his eyes and looked away. "There's the village over there," he said, using his other hand to point toward the horizon. "What did you say it was called?"

"Tuanul," Ania told him absently as she contemplated the sensation she had just experienced.

Her skin had gone clammy and was covered in goosebumps, the hair on her arms sticking straight up. Suppressing a shiver, Ania rolled down the sleeves of her Jedi robes which had previously been irritating her in the torrid desert head. Now, however, she wrapped the black cloth around her tighter so as to fend off the chill.

All of a sudden, Ania was startled when she felt something bump up against her left leg. Leaping away, she instinctively reached for her weapon and produced it from her belt.

"Hey!" she heard Poe exclaim. "Back down!"

Ania blinked once as she realized she was pointing the hilt of her lightsaber at Poe's droid, a round astromech droid with white and orange coloring. Intimidated by her hostile reaction, the little droid rolled away from her and tilted its domed, semi-spherical head toward his master.

"BB-8, are you okay?" Poe asked, giving her a dirty look as he walked past her toward the droid. BB-8 made a series of beeps as he spared a few nervous glances toward Ania.

"Tell your droid to stop running into me," she demanded as she clipped her lightsaber back to her belt. "He nearly knocked me over!"

"What is your problem?" Poe asked as he turned back around to face her, arms crossed in front of his chest.

"My problem?" Ania repeated haughtily, placing her hands on her hips as she stomped her right foot in the sand. "Who do you think you are talking to me like that?"

Poe clenched his jaw and pointed an accusative finger at her. "Stay away from my droid," he said.

"Happily!" Ania shot back. "As long as he stays away from me!"

Poe snarled at her before shaking his head. "Come on, BB-8," he said, beckoning his droid forward as he pushed past her. "Let's get away from her."

Ania watched with a frown as Poe and his droid retreated down the path toward the village. Once they were far enough away, Ania let her belligerent posture fade as she leaned down to rub her leg tenderly. While she wouldn't admit it to Poe, she did feel bad about how she had treated his droid. The unexpected nudge against the back of her calf had triggered a flash of phantom pain which, in combination with the already ominous sense of dread she had detected through the Force, had caused her to snap at both Poe and his innocent droid.

Gritting her teeth, Ania waited a few more moments for the pain to subside. Ever since her injury, Ania had experienced these bouts of phantom pain whenever she was startled. She had asked her mother about it, but she hadn't been able to provide her with an antidote. It was very likely a purely psychological phenomenon. Either it would go away in time, or it wouldn't. It was as simple as that.

Ania kept her distance from Poe as she resumed her trek down the sandy path toward Tuanul. It took about five more minutes before they reached the periphery of the quaint village. "Hey," she called out gruffly as she reached into her robes. "Give this to your droid." Producing a blinking tracking fob, she tossed it to Poe who caught it with both hands. "This will take us where we need to go."

"And where might that be?" Poe asked curiously as he kneeled down to the ever-receptive BB-8. "Here you go, buddy," he said, inserting the fob into the droid's outstretched compartment.

"Some man named Lor San Tekka," Ania finally disclosed.

"What's so important about him?" Poe asked as he stood up and brushed off his hands against his tan flight jacket.

"He has something I need," she said vaguely, furrowing her brow so as to tell Poe to stop asking questions. Unfortunately, he didn't catch the meaning of this gesture.

"You're not going to… hurt him, are you?" he asked cautiously.

Ania quirked an eyebrow at him. "Why would you think that?" she asked him.

Poe blinked a few times as he shared a look with BB-8. "Uh… no reason," he said. "Let's get going. Do you know where to go, BB-8?"

BB-8 whistled in affirmation as he rolled away cheerily. She and Poe both looked at each other warily for a few moments before Poe extended his hand. "After you, ma'am," he said.

Ania narrowed her eyes, wanting to interpret this gesture as sarcastic yet not being able to. Once again, Poe seemed to be entirely genuine. That seemed to be his defining characteristic, and that was something Ania was not accustomed to. Her automatic assumption was that strangers tended to be duplicitous and manipulative. That didn't seem to be the case with this pilot, however.

"You don't have to call me that, you know," she said as she marched past him, following the trail BB-8 had left in the sand.

"What would you prefer?" Poe asked.

"Just Ania," she said.

Behind her she heard Poe begin to follow after her. "Well in that case, you can just call me Poe," he said.

Ania snorted and shook her head. "Not happening, flyboy," she said with a smirk.

* * *

Despite Ben's steadfast insistence that he was fine, Zorq demanded that a med droid be sent over from the destroyer to tend to him. As the droid was being prepared for the space walk, Ben and Zorq went over the plan in hushed voices. The negpod was a small vessel, and even though the walls were supposed to be sound proof, they didn't want to risk being overheard by the First Order delegation which was waiting for them in the next room over.

"Is the fleet in position yet?" Ben asked from his seat along a white plastic bench.

"Almost," Zorq told him. "It will take them about fifteen minutes to jump into the system, so we've got to time the strike just right."

"Where is the beacon?"

Zorq patted his chest. "Around my chain," he told him. Ben nodded, having not noticed the nondescript silver chain until now. Typically, such an unusual sartorial choice would have popped out to Ben, but everything about Zorq's attire was unorthodox. Having peeled off the clunky space suit, Zorq was revealed to be wearing a thin mail over a black shirt which was unbuttoned near the neck, revealing his muscular red and black chest. Along his belt were a pair of blasters clipped onto a holster on either flank. To top it off, he was wearing leather, steel-pointed boots.

"You like it?" Zorq asked, noticing his fascination with the mail armor. "It's made of Beskar," he told him with a grin. "A little gift from a Mandalorian friend of mine. It's the strongest material in the galaxy. Nothing can pierce it."

"Is that so?" Ben asked, arching his eyebrow skeptically. "Not even this?" Reaching to his own belt, Ben produced his lightsaber and gave it a twirl. Zorq's smile broadened as he appreciated the elegant weapon.

"Truth be told, I forgot you even owned that thing, Skywalker," he said. "You sure do keep your Jedi business under wraps."

Ben shrugged modestly as he returned his weapon to his belt. "My mother wants it that way," he confessed. "If I had my way, I'd be using this a whole lot more."

Zorq chortled, clearly agreeing with the sentiment. Just then, the door to the small reception room slid open and a med droid floated in flanked by two soldiers in spacesuits. Zorq stepped aside and at once the levity he had somehow managed to conjure in the aftermath of Ben's traumatic episode came to an abrupt end. As the droid looked him over meticulously, Ben thought back to the raw, absolute sensation of terror which had overwhelmed him during the spacewalk. What was it that he had seen? Was it going to take place in the near future? If so, was there anything he could do to prevent it? He desperately wanted to contact his mother to tell her what had happened, but there simply was no time. The meeting with the First Order had to take precedence in this situation, no matter how ominous and disconcerting his vision may have been.

"I'm fine, can we move on, please?" Ben asked irritably as he waved aside the droid which was checking his ear canal for some inexplicable reason. "I had a heart attack, not an ear infection," he told the droid snidely.

"He does seem alright," Zorq commented to the commander who had just returned to the room.

"That's because I am alright," Ben insisted as he stood up, ignoring the protestations of the med droid.

"Sir, I have not completed your evaluation," it said in an exasperated voice. "Please sit down."

"Let's get this started, shall we?" Ben proposed as he unceremoniously shoved the med droid out of his way when it prodded him in the hip with a dull needle. "We've kept the other delegation waiting long enough."

Zorq hesitated for a moment as he glanced over at the irritated med droid. "Okay, fine," he acquiesced. "But if you have another –"

"I'm not going to," Ben insisted with a groan. "Can we _please _get going?"

"Alright," Zorq said with a begrudging nod. "But we're not leaving this negpod until we're completely confident you can make that spacewalk, you hear me?"

Ben grumbled his agreement. While he was irked by all the unnecessary precaution Zorq was taking, he couldn't deny that it also was a bit flattering. Despite his coarse and oftentimes prickly demeanor, it was clear to him that Zorq genuinely cared for Ben's wellbeing. Whether that be for purely political reasons or for personal ones, Ben didn't know nor did he particularly care. All that mattered was that Ben knew he was valued as an individual and not as a Skywalker. That truly was a novelty for him.

"Lead the way, Commander," Zorq said to the soldier at his side. The commander saluted before beckoning his two subordinates forward. The three men came into formation in front of the door leading to the conference room. With a press of a button on the control panel, the door slid open and the soldiers stepped inside with their blasters held against their chests.

Zorq and Ben followed after them a few moments later after giving them sufficient time to warn them if there was a problem. The soldiers peeled aside and permitted them entry in the conference room. A single rectangular table dominated the room which, despite being the largest in the whole negpod, was quite compact. The walls were white and featureless, the conspicuous lack of windows serving to amplify Ben's already great anxiety. Seated at the opposite end of the shiny black table was the man whom Ben had seen in hologram-form from Zorq's office: General Hux. The First Order general had a taut, pale face with high cheekbones and a pointy nose. His thin, colorless lips were twisted into a subtly smug smirk which Ben immediately found to be off-putting.

Upon laying eyes on Zorq and himself, Hux stood up out of his seat and gave them a slight bow of his head. Ben reciprocated the gesture while scrutinizing the man's outfit. He was wearing a well-fitting dark grey military uniform reminiscent of the Imperial ones Ben had seen in old holopictures. At once, Ben was struck by the formality of the general's attire; this was a man who considered himself a genuine political actor rather than merely an anti-republican terrorist.

"Chancellor Zorq, Senator Skywalker, it is a pleasure to finally meet you," Hux said in a smooth voice. "Please, take a seat."

Zorq and Ben glanced at each other, both taken aback by Hux's debonair demeanor. Silently, the two complied with Hux's entreaty and took a seat at the two chairs at their end of the table.

"Before we begin, may I ask why you feel the need to maintain your security detail?" Hux asked with a frown toward the soldiers who were standing at attention by the exit. "As you can see, I have no comparable entourage," he added, gesturing to the empty space behind him. "It would only be fair for you to dismiss your guards so that we may negotiate under more equitable circumstances."

"I will do no such thing," Zorq said without hesitation. "You and I are not equals, General. Do not delude yourself into thinking that we are."

Hux shrugged off Zorq's brusque retort with a blasé tilt of his head. "Very well," he said calmly. "But I want it known that you have no need for security on this shuttle. Indeed, you are far safer here than you would be in your own office in the Senate building itself."

Ben frowned at this comment as he detected a hint of humor from the general. Leaning forward, Ben probed Hux's mind through the Force in the way his mother had taught him. He had become especially adept at reading people in this manner, having fine-tuned his already sharp intuition with his mother's instruction.

"What are you doing?" Hux asked him, sounding perturbed by Ben's scrutiny.

Ben leaned back and inclined his chin curiously. Hux seemed to be quite satisfied about something. Could it merely be that by agreeing to meet with him, he and Zorq had stroked the man's likely prodigious ego? Yet intuition suggested that there was more to this than narcissism…

"Let's begin," Ben said, disregarding Hux's question. "We were under the impression you wanted to negotiate, General."

"Indeed," Hux said, eying Ben with greater suspicion as he interlaced his fingers in front of his mouth. "I am afraid the negotiations will be quite short. You will either submit your complete surrender, or I will unleash the full extent of my forces upon all worlds foolish enough to support your Republic."

Stunned, Ben and Zorq stared back at Hux with incredulous expressions for several tense moments. "General Hux, you told us you were willing to agree to a ceasefire on Alderaan," Zorq was finally able to say. "Whatever happened to that?"

"Well you see, Chancellor, that was a lie," Hux said with a smirk. "I have no need to compromise. The capabilities of my forces vastly outmatch yours. I am being quite merciful to even give you the opportunity to meet with me, you see."

"Is that so?" Ben asked skeptically.

"Indeed, it is," Hux said, a glint in his pale eyes as he turned to Ben. "Gentlemen, I invite you to redirect your attention to this holoprojector. Reaching into his breast pocket, Hux produced a small puck and slid it across the table. Bursting to life from the device was a projection of a planet.

"What is this?" Zorq asked, sounding as baffled as Ben felt.

"Do you not recognize it?" Hux asked innocently. "This is your precious capital Chandrila. The seat of the New Republic itself."

"Why are you showing us this?" Ben asked, a sense of dread brewing within him as he stared down the general.

"To demonstrate the extent of my capabilities," Hux answered. "You see, Senator, in five minutes this world will be destroyed and the New Republic will be no more unless you are willing to surrender right now."

Ben's mouth fell open, at once sensing the veracity of Hux's terrible words.

"You lie!" Zorq bellowed, not sharing Ben's insight. "There's no way you have that kind of power! Planet destroying technology was destroyed along with the Death Star at Hoth! Everyone knows that!"

"Would you care to test that theory?" Hux asked dryly.

Unable to offer a comeback to this, Zorq turned to Ben with wide eyes. Meeting his compatriot's gaze, Ben merely nodded. "It's true," he said hoarsely. "He's not lying."

"Very wise of you, Senator Skywalker," Hux said snidely. The despicable man stood up and placed a datapad on the table which he must have kept on his lap until now. Spinning the pad around, he pushed it forward and rested it next to the still-active holoprojector. "On this datapad you will find the conditions of your surrender," he said. "I encourage you to sign before it is too late. Millions of lives will be spared should you choose to do so."

"You're disgusting," Ben spat, anger along with bile rising up within him as he seethed at the general.

Hux sneered at him. "The sentiment is mutual, Skywalker," he retorted coolly. "Now, shall we?"

Clenching his jaw, Zorq stood up and reached across the table and dragged the datapad toward their end of the table. Pushing out his chair, Ben stood up as well, but he didn't bother to look at the datapad. He was too angry to even consider signing the document. Without knowing what he was doing, Ben raised his hand toward Hux who abruptly grabbed at his throat with both hands.

"Skywalker! Stop!" he heard Zorq exclaim in shock.

Ben ignored the Chancellor's demand as he found himself lifting Hux into the air. His vision was tinged with red as his right arm shook with fury. As he struggled against Ben's inexorable grip, Hux's legs flailed desperately in the air as his eyes rolled back into his skull.

"Stop him! Stop him!"

Acting on self-preservationist instinct, Ben dropped Hux and spun around just as the three soldiers rushed toward him with their blasters pointed at him. With a slash of his hand, he sent them flying away into the back wall where they collided with a deafening crash and fell to the ground, unconscious. Producing his lightsaber, Ben activated the white blade as he marched across the table toward Hux who was struggling back to his feet. Kicking him square in the mouth, the general fell back down onto his back and looked up in terror as Ben pointed the tip of his blade at Hux's throat.

All was still for a few moments as Ben stared murderously at his foe. Blood trickling down his chin and onto his formerly immaculate uniform, Hux's red-stained lips curled into a smirk. "Go ahead," he taunted. "Kill me and your planet gets destroyed."

Ben hesitated, the tip of his blade quivering on account to the tremors running up and down his arm. Feeling Zorq's eyes on him, Ben looked up and across the table. "Don't do it, Ben," he enjoined him. "Use your brain."

"We can't just surrender!" Ben protested.

"What's the alternative?" Zorq asked him.

There was none. They had no choice but to surrender. It seemed the war was lost as soon it began.

* * *

"Would you like something to drink, young Skywalker?"

Ania smiled sweetly at the avuncular old man and nodded. Having arrived at Lor San Tekka's humble abode, Ania had entered alone, ordering Poe and the droid to stay outside. At once, she had been charmed by San Tekka's humility and hospitality.

"I must say, I am surprised to see you here all alone," San Tekka said as he returned with a glass of water in hand. Ania pursed her lips nervously as she reached up to accept the glass. Feeling parched from having walked for so long in the Jakku heat, Ania took the opportunity to stall for time as she considered how best to explain herself.

"My mother is quite busy at the moment," she said, setting the glass down on the wooden bench beside her. "She would have come herself, but she didn't have the time."

"I see," San Tekka said as he sat down on the bench opposite her. "And your brother? How is young Ben? Luke always spoke so highly of his nephew."

"He's, er… he's well," she said awkwardly. "Forgive me, Mr. San Tekka, but –"

"Please, call me Lor," the man interrupted with a playful smile, the wrinkles around his tired eyes crinkling with amusement. "It's too much of a mouthful otherwise."

Ania smiled and nodded. "Well you must understand that I am short for time, Lor," she said. "My mother is counting on me to find this map."

Lor craned his head back as he leaned back against the daubed wall behind him. "Yes, yes," he said with a hint of weariness. "You Skywalkers always do make haste."

"Do you have the map?" Ania asked as she leaned forward toward him.

"I have _a_ map," Lor said, reaching into his coat pocket and producing a small data chip. "Whether it leads to your uncle, however, I do not know."

"What do you mean?" Ania asked, aghast. "You said it would help us find Luke!"

"Indeed it will," Lor said, bowing his head. "Whether he is still there, however, remains to be seen."

Ania furrowed her brow as she sat back upright. "Explain," she ordered, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

Lor smiled wanly at her as he looked down at the data chip in his right hand. "I found a copy of this map buried in the soil on Yavin near the ruins of Luke's Jedi Temple," he said. "I knew Luke had been looking for the planet where the Jedi Order was born, but I never knew he had actually found it. Why he would have buried it on Yavin, I have no idea."

"Maybe he wanted you to find it," Ania suggested.

"Unlikely," Lor said with a shake of his head. "If he wanted me to know about this map, he would have told me himself."

Dismissing this point as irrelevant, Ania extended her hand toward Lor. "May I have it?" she asked.

Just as Lor was about to drop the data chip into Ania's outstretched hand, the two were startled when Poe rushed into the room – his eyes wide and his breath ragged. "I told you to stay outside!" she exclaimed, jumping to her feet and giving Poe an irritated look.

"We've got to go," Poe said, ignoring her protestation. "Right now," he added, sparing a look toward a startled Lor who was still seated.

"What is this?" the old man asked her. "Who is this man?"

"He's my ride," Ania told him. "What are you talking about, flyboy?" she asked, turning back to Poe.

"First off, my name is Poe," he said with a bit of attitude. Ania opened her mouth to offer a snide comment of her own, but Poe continued on without giving her a chance. "Secondly, the First Order is here," he told her.

"The First Order? What do you…"

Ania trailed off and her eyes widened when she sensed something. She wasn't quite sure how to describe it. It was dark, comparable to Snoke in that sense, yet it was also oddly familiar.

"Ania?" Poe asked.

"Lor, give Poe the map," she ordered, accidentally referring to Poe by his name for the first time. It didn't matter, however. She now had far graver matters at hand. "Get back to the ship and leave," she instructed the frazzled pilot who had just pocketed the data chip.

"What? No way!" Poe said. "You're coming with me."

Ania shook her head. "I'm staying," she said, drawing her lightsaber from her belt and activating it with one swift motion. Poe's brows shot up his forehead as he looked down toward the bright white blade which was humming by her side.

"If you're staying, I'm staying," Poe countered.

"The map is too important," Ania said, growling in frustration at Poe's obstinance. "Take it to my mother on Coruscant."

"But why won't you come with me?" Poe asked.

Ania didn't answer as she contemplated this familiar yet ominous presence in the Force. She had to find out what it was. For some reason, she knew that she had to do this.

"Just do it," she demanded finally. "Go now, while you still can." Poe hesitated for a moment longer before nodding. "And Poe?" she added just as he was about to turn around to leave. "May the Force be with you."

Poe's brow twitched and he looked as if he had more to say, but evidently he decided against it. Spinning around, Poe pushed the curtains aside and ran outside.

"You wield a purified saber," Lor's voice suddenly said, startling her slightly.

Ania arched an eyebrow at Lor. "I do," she confirmed flatly.

Lor nodded at her with a curious expression. "Most interesting," he mused contemplatively. "You are your mother's daughter, aren't you?"

"What is that supposed to mean?" Ania asked.

"Be wary of the dark side, my dear," Lor told her gravely. "As much Skywalker I see within you, I see just as much Vitrius."

"As you should," Ania said proudly, inclining her chin as she looked down at the seated Lor. "I am Vitrius' daughter." Lor frowned at her, yet Ania looked away without waiting for a response. "I thank you for your help, Lor," she said as she strengthened her grip around her lightsaber.

"Think nothing of it, young Ania," Lor told her. "I serve you proudly as I served your uncle. May the Force guide you in all your endeavors."

Ania considered these words for a moment longer before nodding toward Lor in a sign of appreciation. With that, Ania pushed through the curtain and out of the house. The sun was beginning to set now and the horizon was alight with a brilliant orange and purple hue. Ania didn't spare any time to marvel at this view, however, because she was far too concerned with the massive vessel which was descending from the sky toward her. Surrounding the ship was an armada of lesser troop transport vessels which were also making their way toward the tiny village. Why were they here? Had they come for the map? If so, how did they know about that?

Stepping away from Lor's home and toward the approaching ship, Ania felt that engrossing presence growing closer and closer. Her hair whipped back in the wind as the ship let out jets of propulsion as it prepared to land.

"Hey!" a voice suddenly called out to her. "What are you doing? Take cover!"

Looking behind her, Ania saw an Abednedo crouched behind a limestone wall. Blaster in hand, he beckoned her toward him. Sparing one last glance toward the approaching fleet, Ania turned around and rushed over toward him.

"What's going on?" Ania asked the Abednedo as she fell to the ground by his side, lightsaber still active in her right hand.

"First Order raid," he told her in a deep, guttural voice. "This is the biggest one I've ever seen though," he added nervously. Just then, Ania swiveled her head around when she heard the first of the troop transports land down on the sand about a hundred yards away. "Hey, what's that you got there?" the Abednedo suddenly asked her. "Some kind of energy staff?"

"Something like that," Ania told him absently as she scanned the horizon. "Say, you got a spare blaster I could use?" she asked, suddenly realizing how conspicuous her weapon was.

"Sure thing," the Abednedo told her, reaching to his side holster and producing a small pistol. "Use it well."

As she accepted the blaster with her left hand, the tense silence was suddenly shattered by a fusillade of blaster fire. Deactivating her blade, Ania hastily reattached it to her belt before grasping her petite weapon with both hands. Getting up on her knees, Ania honed in on the Force to guide her bolts as she opened fire on the wave of First Order Stormtroopers who had just arrived. She shot down four enemy troopers before seeking cover behind the wall once more.

"There's got to be over a hundred of them!" the Abednedo exclaimed. "We're doomed!"

"Not yet we're not!" Ania yelled as she jumped up once more and shot a Stormtrooper directly in the helmet. Ania opened fire on the fallen trooper's companion yet missed when he dropped to his knees to tend to his comrade. Curious, Ania watched for a few moments as the trooper dragged his friend away and toward shelter.

A strangled scream next to her shook Ania out of her ill-timed moment of contemplation. Turning toward the sound, Ania saw that her Abednedo friend had been shot in the shoulder and was lying in the sand on his back. Falling to her knees, Ania dragged the Abednedo up off the ground and propped him against the limestone wall.

A massive explosion rumbled in the distance, causing Ania to look up in fright. Discarding her blaster, Ania drew her preferred weapon and got back to her feet. Leaping over the wall, she deflected a pair of bolts before charging head on at the approaching wave of Stormtroopers. The armor-clad solders hesitated when they saw her running toward them, and in their moment of pause Ania jumped forward and sliced down at her nearest foe. With mechanical precision, Ania whirled her white blade around her as she deflected bolts and severed limbs. The blood pounded in her ears as she fought off trooper after trooper. Power surged around her as she ceased to even think about what she was doing – acting on pure instinct and allowing the Force to guide her actions.

"Retreat! Retreat! Retreat!"

The Stormtroopers began to scamper away and Ania made to follow them when she was struck head on by a vicious cold. Looking up, Ania bared her teeth as she saw a figure in a black cloak approaching. At once, she knew this was the person she had been sensing. This was the person whom she sought to find.

"Who are you?" Ania asked, bending her knees and raising her lightsaber high as her opponent came to a stop several feel away from her. Now that he was closer, Ania could see that the man was wearing a helmet which entirely obscured his face. Her eyes darted down and away from the mask when she saw the man produce a lightsaber of his own and activate it. Ania was not surprised to see that the blade was red.

"I am Ren," the man said, his voice now doubt modulated by the mask. "And you are my enemy."

Ania hissed at the man, recognizing the name from the knights who had killed her grandmother and set fire to Luke's Temple. "I will also be your death," she said ferociously, sparing no more time to begin her offensive. Rushing toward the man, she slashed down and met his red lightsaber directly over his face. Her opponent was taller than her, yet not as much as she was used to. The only people whom she typically fought against with lightsabers were her brother who towered over her, and her mother who was about the same height. Therefore Ania found herself having to improvise as she tested Ren's different fighting style.

Despite that, Ania began pushing Ren back as she unleashed wave after wave of strikes and jabs. Her confidence grew with each successive step Ren took in retreat. She knew she as an exceptional duelist – her mother had told her as much – but she had never before tested her abilities on a genuine opponent. With her mother's teaching, Ania had transformed from a desperate street fighter into a formidable and highly skilled warrior! The mysterious Ren didn't stand a chance against her!

Inspired by this thought, Ania found herself redoubling her efforts as she sliced and slashed with greater vigor than she had ever fought with before. She could sense Ren's panic as he stumbled away from her unrelenting offensive. Suddenly, Ren tripped on the hem of his own cloak and went tumbling down the ground. He managed to roll away from Ania's blade which went slicing through the sand, yet he was unable to get back to his feet. Ren seemed to be utterly defeated.

"Hold your fire!" he heard a voice call out.

Looking up from Ren, Ania saw that she was entirely surrounded by Stormtroopers who were training their blasters on her. The rest of the battle had concluded as the stiff resistance of the villagers had been finally quelled. Now it was just her standing in the midst of the First Order forces.

"Drop your weapon," she heard Ren demand from the ground. Looking back down at her defeated opponent, Ania snarled and pressed the blade closer to his throat.

"You're not in a position to negotiate," she said.

"Neither are you," Ren countered. "Hand me the lightsaber."

Ania hesitated, realizing the futility of her position. What good would killing Ren be if she got shot herself? There was no way she could fight them all off.

"Good," Ren said as Ania lowered her weapon and sheathed the blade. Taking a step away from Ren, she watched with disgust as the masked man got back to his feet. "Now give me your weapon."

"I defeated you," Ania said stubbornly, hoping to appeal to this man's sense of honor. "You don't deserve my weapon."

"That's funny," Ren said as he took a step toward her, their faces merely inches apart. "I don't feel defeated."

Ania's finger twitched over the trigger as she resisted the urge to impale Ren in the chest. The thought made Ania feel nauseous, however, as she recalled the symmetry of the situation to the one she was in three years ago with her father.

"Your weapon," Ren ordered one last time. "Give it to me."

Bowing her head, Ania raised the hilt with both hands and extended it to Ren. This was a tainted blade, after all. Perhaps it was not a great loss to lose it. The moment Ren placed his gloved hand on the hilt, however, the both of them froze when a seismic disruption in the Force rippled around them. Ania looked up in awe to meet where she suspected Ren's eyes were. Despite not being able to see his face, Ania could sense that he was just as shocked as she was.

"What was that?" she asked hoarsely, their three collective hands wrapped around the weapon in an odd expression of solidarity.

"Death," Ren said, his garbled voice sounding hoarser than usual. "Something horrible has happened."

* * *

Hux had left ten minutes ago after Ben and Zorq had reluctantly signed the articles of their surrender. He had demanded that they stay behind on the negpod for an additional fifteen minutes so that they didn't try anything that might jeopardize their arrangement. Ben was pacing agitatedly back and forth along Hux's side of the table when something caught his eye. Turning his head back toward the holoprojetor which was still active in the middle of the table, he saw a cloud of debris and smoke where Chandrila used to be.

"Zorq!" Ben exclaimed, startling the Chancellor who had been rubbing his forehead wearily at his seat at the opposite end of the table. "Look!"

Looking up sharply, Zorq's eyes bulged out of their sockets as he saw what had happened. He stared in silence for a few moments before leaping out of his seat and smashing his fist against the table. Much to Ben's shock, a web of fissures radiated outward from where Zorq had struck the plastic table. He had never seen plastic break like that.

"That bastard!" Zorq roared as he reached into his breast pocket and produced the beacon. "He lied to us!"

Feeling overwhelmingly dizzy, Ben collapsed down into the nearest chair as a horrific tremor pierced the Force. Holding his hands to his mouth, it suddenly dawned on him what had happened. Chandrila – the planet he had called home for the majority of his life – was gone. The Senate, the Republic, and his life as he once knew it had been destroyed in one swift blow. He felt sick to his stomach as he doubled over in his chair.

"Send the Fleet to Alderaan!" he heard Zorq bark. "Do it now!"

"Zorq, why?" Ben asked, his voice husky and strained. "What's the point?"

"I will not bow down to this barbarism!" Zorq roared, pointing a meaty finger at him. "I am still the Chancellor of this Republic, and I will not surrender unless every star system in the whole galaxy is destroyed, do you hear me? We're not going down without a fight!"

Despite his lightheadedness, Ben shakily got back to his feet. Pressing his hands against the fractured table to support himself, Ben gave Zorq the most determined nod he could muster. "Then I will be honored to fight alongside you, sir," he said, summoning up a resolve he didn't know he was capable of. "We will fight until the end."

It seemed the Republic would not die so easily this time around.


	23. Imprisoned

Chapter 23 – Imprisoned

"Ben!"

Having just arrived on the bridge of the Republic flagship _NRS Skywalker, _Ben was startled when the ship's namesake herself came barreling toward him and enveloped him in a bone-crushing hug.

"Oh, Ben, I was so worried!" his mother said in his ear as Ben struggled to breathe. "When I felt what happened…"

"I'm okay, Mom," Ben wheezed as he patted her back reassuringly. "Please let me go," he added, his cheeks flaming red as he saw dozens of eyes trained on him.

"I felt so horrible about the way I spoke to you the other day," Leia continued on without acknowledging his request. "I shouldn't have said those things, Ben. I'm so sorry."

Ben blinked a few times as his embarrassment faded away in the face of his incredulity at this heartfelt apology. As far as he knew, his mother had never apologized to anyone ever. "It's… it's okay, Mom," he managed to say. "It's alright."

He heard his mother sniffle before finally pulling away from him. Ben felt his ribcage decompress and he took in a deep breath as he watched his mother wipe at her eyes with the back of her sleeve.

"General Skywalker, I assume you have been briefed on the situation?" Zorq asked, startling Ben who had forgotten that he was standing right next to him.

Leia nodded as she reassumed a formal military posture. "I have, Your Excellency," she said, her voice firm once more. "Do you have any idea what weapon the First Order used to destroy Chandrila? Was it another Death Star?"

"We don't know," Zorq said as he began walking down the bridge. He and Leia fell into step as Ben followed a few paces behind them. Soldiers on either side of the bridge stood at attention as they passed. "But whatever it is, we have to destroy it as soon as possible otherwise our cause it futile."

"I agree, Chancellor," Leia said with a nod of her head.

"You should send the fleet to Chandrila to see if we can intercept this superweapon," Zorq suggested. "Then we can –"

"Chancellor Zorq, I will remind you that it is I who is the commander in chief of the Republic's armed forces, not you," Leia interrupted curtly. "I am in charge of all strategic and tactical operations. You do not give orders to me. Is that clear?"

Zorq stopped walking as his mouth fell open. Ben smirked, having been the recipient of comparable verbal reprimands in the past. It was quite refreshing to see someone else bear the brunt of his mother's ire for a change.

"I, um… yes, ma'am," Zorq stammered after glancing over at Ben who had covered his mouth with his hand so as to hide his smirk. "Very clear."

"Good," Leia said as she placed her hands behind her back and resumed walking away. Zorq hesitated for a few moments before following after her toward the broad curved window at the head of the bridge. "Your orders to launch an invasion of Alderaan without sufficient planning were brazen and out of line, Chancellor," she said with a frown. "Fortunately I was made aware of your instructions and had the operation cancelled. I hope we will not have any more hierarchical mishaps in the future."

"No, ma'am," Zorq said at once, wringing his hands awkwardly as he lingered a step or two behind her. Ben smiled subtly in appreciation for his mother's expedient demonstration of superiority. With the Senate gone along with the capital, Zorq's powers were effectually null. Leia had wasted no time in asserting her position. Zorq was technically Chancellor, but make no mistake, Leia Skywalker was the leader of the Republic now. While he sympathized with Zorq, having experienced a comparable fall from grace three years ago when he had been dismissed as committee chair for the CIH, he couldn't deny that he felt more at ease with his mother at the helm. If there was anyone who could perform the impossible, it was her.

"Let me go! Let me go! I have to speak with the General!"

"Shut it, Dameron! You're making a scene."

Startled by this sudden interruption, Ben spun around to see a man being restrained by two officers at the opposite end of the bridge.

"General Skywalker! General Skywalker!"

The man was abruptly silenced when a third officer ran forward and jammed a taser into his ribcage, causing his whole body to stiffen before he fell to the ground.

"What is this?" Leia asked as she marched passed him and over toward the scene of the commotion.

The officers dropped the man to the ground and saluted rigidly. "It's nothing, ma'am," the one on the left said hastily. "Commander Dameron is on suspension, ma'am. He's not supposed to be here."

"Please let me speak!" Dameron said through gritted teeth as he struggled to get back to his feet. "I have a message for you, general."

Leia arched an eyebrow at the man who was hunched over slightly as he rubbed his ribs tenderly where he had been tased. "A message from whom?" she asked him.

"From your daughter," Dameron said.

At this, Ben took a step forward so that he was standing next to his mother. "From Ania?" he asked. "Where is she? Is she alright?"

Dameron glanced up at him and cringed slightly. "I, uh… I don't know," he said haltingly.

"You don't know?" Leia asked ominously. "What happened?"

Quaking in fear for his superior's withering glare, Dameron swallowed hard before elaborating. "She coerced me into taking her to Jakku, ma'am," he said in a high voice. "I didn't want to do it, I swear."

"Jakku?" Ben asked, instantly thinking of Rey. "Why did she want to go there?"

"She wouldn't tell me, sir," Dameron said. "When we arrived, she went into a village to find a man named Lor… Lor…"

"Lor San Tekka?" Ben provided.

Dameron nodded. "I don't know what happened since she didn't let me inside, but she gave me a data chip which supposedly has some kind of map on it."

"Give it to me," Ben ordered at once, extending his hand. Dameron complied, producing a data chip from his pants pocket and handing it over to him. So Ania had succeeded! She had found the map leading to Luke.

"Where is she, Commander?" Leia asked once again. "Where is my daughter?"

Dameron's face blanched as he bowed his head toward the floor. "She told me to take the map to you," he said, his voice muted and difficult for Ben to understand. "The First Order arrived soon after we did, ma'am. I wanted to stay with her, but she insisted that I go. I… I don't know what happened afterward."

"You left her there?" Leia asked in a growl.

"I'm sorry, ma'am, she wouldn't let me –"

"You do not take orders from her, you take orders from me!" Leia bellowed, causing Dameron to flinch. He attempted to take a step away from his irate superior, yet the officers on either side of him grabbed his arms and didn't let him retreat. "You had no right to take her there without my permission and you had no right to leave her alone on that planet to die!"

"I'm sorry, ma'am," Dameron whimpered in a tiny voice.

"That is not good enough!"

"Mom, calm down –" Ben tried to say, but faltered when she turned on him.

"I don't want to hear it from you, Ben!" she screamed, pointing an accusative finger at him. "You are to blame for this as well!" Stunned, Ben's mouth fell open as he stared back at his mother in disbelief. What had happened to that heartfelt apology from five minutes ago? "Officers, cuff this man and take him to the lower decks," she ordered, spinning back toward Dameron. "I want him out of my sight and I never want to see him wearing a Republic uniform ever again."

"Yes, ma'am," the officers said in unison as they saluted once again.

"That's entirely unwarranted!" Ben exclaimed, regaining his courage as he leapt to Dameron's defense.

"I agree," Zorq chimed in. "You can't just be dismissing talented pilots in the middle of a war for trivial offenses."

"This is not a trivial offense!" Leia shot back, redirecting her wrath toward Zorq. "And do not question my authority in front of my troops ever again, Chancellor. My word on this bridge is final, do you understand me?" Zorq and Ben shared a look before nodding vigorously. Vein protruding from her left temple, Leia spared one last glance toward him before turning around once more and marching away down the bridge. "General Dune, instruct Admiral Ackbar to deploy the 7th Fleet to Jakku immediately," she called out. "And prepare a task force of droppers to sortie down to the planet's surface. I want eyes on my daughter within the next twelve hours."

"Yes, General Skywalker," he heard the familiar voice of his mother's chief of staff say.

"And somebody escort Chancellor Zorq off of the bridge," she ordered. "Solely military personnel are allowed here from here on out."

Zorq seethed at Leia's retreating figure for a moment before roughly pushing aside an officer who came up to him. "I can see myself out, thank you very much," he growled before marching away. Ben hurried after the disgruntled Chancellor, eager to get away from his mother's perceptive eye. Glancing up, Zorq saw him fall into step with him but otherwise didn't acknowledge his presence. No doubt he was immeasurably frustrated at the moment.

"Hey Zorq, do you –"

"What, am I just Zorq now?" he snapped, spinning toward him and point a finger at his chest. "Am I no longer the Chancellor?"

"Er –"

"Just because your mother obviously doesn't respect me doesn't mean you don't have to either," he said, razor-sharp teeth bared as he got up in Ben's face.

Refusing to be intimidated, Ben placed his hand on Zorq's Beskar-clad chest and pushed him away gently. "I'm on your side, okay?" he said calmly. "I understand why you're upset, but we all need to calm down right now. Emotions are running high, but even so we can't start fighting amongst ourselves. Nobody on this ship is your enemy, Zorq, including my mother. The only enemy you have is the First Order."

Zorq inclined his chin and gave Ben a contemplative look before nodding. "You're right, I'm sorry," he apologized, placing his hands on his hips and exhaling slowly. "I just feel so… useless."

"Believe me, I understand the feeling," Ben said as he too sighed loudly. "She makes you feel that way sometimes." Zorq nodded and glanced down the hallway when they heard footsteps approaching. "Come on," Ben said in a hushed voice. "We need to go to the lower decks."

"Why?" Zorq asked as he followed after him.

"I need you to do something for me," Ben told him.

Zorq snorted in sardonic amusement. "Did you not get the memo, Skywalker?" he asked him bitterly. "I don't have any authority anymore."

"Of course you do, Zorq!" Ben exclaimed, irked by his friend's defeatism. "You're the Chancellor of the Republic!"

"There is no Republic," Zorq said moodily.

Ben groaned in exasperation as they reached an elevator at the end of the hall. "Would you shut up and listen to what I want?" he asked with greater astringency than he had intended. Shocked, Zorq blinked a few times and didn't offer a retort. "Thank you," Ben said as the elevator door slid open. Stepping inside, Ben pressed the button for the bottom floor before turning back to Zorq. "I need you to pardon that pilot," he told him.

"The pilot? You mean the one who your mother had arrested?" Zorq asked. "I can't do that!"

"Why not?" Ben asked innocently as the lift began to descend.

"I have no jurisdiction!" Zorq said, gesticulating his hands at his sides. "You heard what she said! I have no authority when it comes to the military."

"But he's not in the military anymore," Ben pointed out.

"What are you talking about?"

"He just got kicked out, didn't he?" Ben asked, perplexed by Zorq's incredulity. "My mom said she didn't want to see him in a Republic uniform ever again. Doesn't that mean he's no longer in the military?"

"No, you idiot!" Zorq exclaimed as the elevator came to a stop and the doors opened. "He's been court-martialed, not fired. That's not how the military works."

"Oh," Ben said, feeling supremely foolish as he stepped off the elevator. "Well that's too bad. I guess I'm going to have to break him out now."

"What!?"

"Any idea where they took him?"

Zorq grabbed Ben by the shoulder and forcefully spun around. "What are you doing, Skywalker?" he asked. "What's so important about this pilot, anyway?"

"I need a pilot," Ben said vaguely.

"Clearly, but why does it have to be this one?"

"Well, he doesn't have much else going on right now, so I figured I'd offer him a job," Ben said nonchalantly, removing Zorq's hand from his shoulder so that he could resume walking away down the corridor. "Oh, there it is!" Ben said, pointing toward a sign. "Prison ward! He must be there, don't you think?"

"You've completely lost your mind," Zorq said, shaking his head as he followed after him. "Your mother is going to kill you."

"Oh, I doubt that," Ben said flippantly.

Taking a turn, Ben found himself walking down a narrow silver hallway. On either side of him were cells with a small glass peephole on the door. Patrolling the hallway was a dark-skinned female soldier wearing a typical cream colored uniform with a red insignia on her shoulder.

"Hey!" the soldier called out. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm looking for a pilot by the name of Dameron," Ben disclosed freely. "Do you know where he might be?"

"Of course I do," the woman said stiffly. "They brought Poe down just five minutes ago. What do you want with him?"

"Just to talk," Ben said blithely as Zorq came to a stop next to him.

"What the hell are you doing?" Zorq asked in a whisper. Ben disregarded him.

"In case you didn't know, this here is Chancellor Zorq," Ben said, gesturing to his disenfranchised companion. "He'd very much like to speak with Commander Dameron as well. We have very important Republic business to discuss with him."

"Do you have authorization from the General for this?" the soldier asked suspiciously.

"Who? You mean my mother? Of course!" Ben said, chuckling nervously and giving Zorq a nudge in the ribs. "Right, Chancellor?"

"Er… yeah," Zorq said awkwardly.

The soldier narrowed her eyes and reached behind her back. "I don't care who you are," she said coolly. "I know for sure that you're not supposed to be here, so I'm going to ask you to leave before I'm forced to tase you."

Ben raised his hands and gave the guard a strained grin. "Hold on there, that's not going to be necessary," he said, eyeing her right hand warily when she produced the taser in question from behind her back. "Because… because you're going to take me to Commander Dameron's cell right now," he intoned, waving his hand in front of the soldier's taut face.

"Excuse me?" she asked.

Ben gulped audibly. That hadn't gone as smoothly as planned. To be fair, his mother had strictly refused to allow him to try Jedi mind tricks on a real person, so perhaps he merely needed more practice. Well, no time like the present!

"You _will _take me to Commander Dameron's cell," he said, more forcefully this time. "And you will release him into my custody."

"You're insane, Skywalker," Zorq grumbled in his ear.

"I agree," the soldier said. "You're completely crazy if you think that's happening."

"So…you won't do it?" Ben asked, tilting his head.

The soldier gave him an incredulous look before abruptly thrusting out and jamming the taser into his abdomen. His whole body froze as a current of electricity immobilized his limbs. All in all, the sensation wasn't terribly painful, however. It kind of tickled, actually.

"Oh hell!" Zorq exclaimed as he ran away back down the hallway.

Ben collapsed to the ground hard on his back with a loud thud. He felt the soldier lifting his legs and begin to arduously drag him away in the opposite direction from where Zorq had fled.

Things certainly hadn't gone to plan.

* * *

"_You have a penchant for getting into terrible situations, don't you?_"

Ania grit her teeth and didn't respond to her facetious grandfather's comment. She was strapped onto an inclined table in the center of a dark, pentagonal room. Having surrendered her weapon to Ren, she had been taken onto his shuttle and locked in this cell. It had been several hours now, and she was beginning to feel quite lightheaded from dehydration.

"_So do you have a plan for getting out of this alive?_" Anakin asked her.

"Would you shut it?" Ania said sharply.

"_I'm sorry, I thought my presence would be appreciated in your time of need,_" Anakin said, sounding hurt.

Ania rolled her eyes. "Well do you have anything useful to say?" she asked.

There was a long pause. "_Define useful,_" he said finally.

Just then, the door to the cell opened with a loud clang. The dark room was suddenly flooded with bright light from the hallway, causing Ania to squint as she saw a tenebrous figure walk in.

"Who are you talking to?" Ren asked as the door closed behind him.

"No one," Ania said automatically.

Ren considered her silently for several long moments. Ania looked away to her left, feeling uncomfortable with this level of scrutiny. Finally, Ren took a couple steps toward her. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that Ren was holding her lightsaber in his left hand.

"How did you come by this blade?" he asked her, his modulated voice sounding especially severe. Ania remained defiantly silent, prompting Ren to growl in frustration. "This weapon belongs to me."

"No it doesn't," Ania snapped, unable to stop herself. "It's mine."

Ren took another step toward her so that they were no more than a foot apart from one another. "Allow me to show you this," he said. Curious, Ania glanced down as Ren reached to his belt and produced a second lightsaber. As Ren raised it toward the single light in the room which was positioned directly over Ania's head, she was able to get a good look at the hilt.

"That… that's mine," she said, utterly bewildered. The two hilts in Ren's hands were completely identical. "Where did you get that?"

"From my master," Ren said.

"Your master?" Ania repeated. "Who?"

Ren set the identical hilts aside on a table to Ania's left. Returning his attention to her, he peered down at her for a few moments before finally speaking. "You know who," he said.

"Sidious," Ania snarled.

Ren nodded. "My master knows everything about you, Ania Skywalker," she said, pronouncing her name with a fricative hiss. Ania remained silent, her jaw clenched angrily as she stared back at her captor. "He once had great aspirations for you. He once thought that you would be the one to bear my title as Master of the Knights of Ren."

"It's a shame I wasn't interested," Ania said snidely.

"It is," Ren agreed as he began pacing around her, his heavy footsteps echoing softly in the room. "He learned quite quickly that you would be a failure," he said from behind her. "You were protected from him, you see. The blood of Vader shields you."

"It's Skywalker's blood, not Vader's," Ania retorted through gritted teeth. "The power of the light is greater than that of the dark, Ren."

"Is that so?" Ren asked as he returned to Ania's field of view. "Is that what your master taught you? Is that what Darth Vitrius wants you to think?"

Ania inclined her chin in defiance. "Yes," she said proudly.

Ren was silent for a few seconds before he resumed pacing once more, his hands rested behind his back as he slowly walked in front of her. "Snoke abandoned you on Tatooine the moment he found out that your mind was impervious to him," he said, resuming his story. Ania inhaled sharply, at once sensing the truth of these words. They had all suspected that Snoke had been the one to steal her from her mother twenty-one years ago, but this now confirmed it. "For years, Snoke sought to find a suitable host for the Sith, but he found no one. He became desperate. It seemed as if Sidious' death would be permanent after all."

"His death _is_ permanent," Ania insisted. "My mother killed Sidious and she will kill him again!"

"Vitrius is weak compared to the full power of the Sith," Ren shot back. "When my master is reborn, he will destroy the last vestiges of Vader's blood and restore order to the galaxy!" Ania wanted to deny Ren, but she stopped herself before she could say something. There was no point in arguing with this maniac. She might as well learn all she could from him since he seemed so willing to talk. "The revival of the Sith would have been rendered impossible were it not for the exploits of one man," Ren continued, having completed a second revolution around her by now.

"Who?" Ania asked curiously.

Ren came to a stop directly in front of her. "Your father," he said, the bitterness conveyed in spite of the mask. "Han Solo."

Ania instinctively tensed up at the mention of her father. "He… he would never –"

"Snoke intercepted a message sent from Solo to Vitrius' brother," Ren interrupted. "He said that he had discovered a girl on Jakku who's midichlorian levels rivaled that of Vitrius herself. Certain that this was the host he needed, Snoke hurried back to Tatooine to collect you. He knew that you were the tool he needed in order to acquire this girl and bring her to Sidious."

"I… I didn't –"

"You murdered Han Solo and left that girl all alone!" Ren shouted. "You killed your own father so that that girl couldn't have him as her own."

Ania's lower chin began to tremble as the trenchant accusations bit at her core. "I d-didn't mean to," she stammered. "I didn't know –"

Ania ceased talking abruptly when Ren reached to his mask and removed it, the sophisticated device unfurling at the mouth grill with a hiss as he did this. Setting the mask down by the two lightsabers on the table, Ren turned back to look at her. Ania gasped when she saw those furious eyes staring back at her.

"Rey!" she said in a stunned whisper. The girl standing before her was taller and more mature than the one she recognized from Ben's office three years ago, but her countenance was unmistakable.

"I am the heir of Sidious," Rey proclaimed proudly as she glowered down at her. "And you, as the heir of Vitrius, are therefore my enemy."

Ania tried to speak, but Rey cut her off when she thrusted her fist directly into Ania's nose. The back of Ania's skull crashed into the back of the table and she heard a grotesque cracking sound as blood poured out her nose. Unable to reach up since her arms were strapped to her sides, Ania merely sagged her head forward and allowed the blood the dribble down her chin and onto her chest.

"You sicken me, Skywalker," she heard Rey's vitriolic voice say from over her. "You deserve to suffer as much as I suffered."

"Rey, I… I –"

Once again, Ania was cut short when she saw a flash of blue and she was suddenly engulfed in an all-too-familiar agony. Screaming in pain, Ania writhed against her restraints as the lightning wracked her body. She pleaded incoherently for what felt like hours as Rey refused to relent. The pain unbearable, Ania finally blacked out.

* * *

**Author's Note: A little insight to my process here. I typically write about half the story before I post even the first chapter online. I am more or less done with this story now, I'm just wrapping up the final chapter or two. Since this story hasn't garnered much readership (as is the nature of sequels, I suppose) I've been considering just posting the entire story in one go. For those of you who are reading, could you kindly provide me with your opinion on this? Would you rather I keep posting twice a week or would you rather I just go ahead and post the whole thing when it's done? Fair warning, there's about 80k words and 18 chapters still to go. **

**On a side note, I believe it is time for some shameless self-promotion! I'm working on another story called _Hunter _which you should check out if you enjoy my writing. I'm having so much fun writing it and I honestly think it might be my best work to date. **


	24. Jailbreak

Chapter 24 – Jailbreak

Ben had just been deposited on his back into a cell when he heard the guard shut the door and say something over the intercom.

"You wanted to see Commander Dameron? Well here he is. You two can have some quality time together."

Ben groaned as he began to regain some control over his erstwhile-motionless limbs. He attempted to flip over onto his chest, but was ultimately unsuccessful. His legs felt like jelly.

"What the hell happened to you?" he heard someone say from above.

Looking up, Ben saw the pilot who he had gone through the trouble of being tased for. He was looming over him with a concerned expression as he scrutinized his face. Ben tried to explain himself, yet found that he was unable. His lips were so swollen, he couldn't even speak. Those little tasers packed a real punch, didn't they?

"Here, let me help you," Dameron said as he picked him up by the armpits and strained to lead him toward a bench on the back wall. Ben appreciated the effort, but it was clear that he was far too heavy for the slender pilot to carry. Slapping Dameron's hand away, Ben extricated himself from the man's grip and managed to stumble toward the bench on his own. "Damn, she really got you good," Dameron said as he continued to stare at his face in amazement.

"I… I got tased," Ben was able to say.

"Buddy, you got way more than just tased," Poe told him with a shake of his head as he stood back upright. "I'd reckon she tranquilized you." Ben's wide-eyed expression conveyed the question since he was unable to properly ask it with words. "Don't worry, you'll be fine in a couple of hours," Dameron assured him. "But it's no fun getting tranqued."

"Have… you?" Ben managed to ask.

Dameron snorted and nodded. "My ex was a real nut job," he said vaguely. "Anyway, what are you even doing here? Did you piss off the general like I did?"

Ben gulped in fear when he thought about how his mother would react to what he had done, or at least tried to do. "Not yet," he said grimly.

"In that case, you'll be out of here pretty soon," Dameron said. "I, on the other hand, will not."

At this comment, Ben suddenly remembered why he was here in the first place. "You!" he said rather bluntly as he pointed his index finger at the perplexed pilot. "I need you."

"Um… what?" Dameron asked, taking a step away nervously.

Feeling frustrated, Ben pulled at his still-swollen lip before giving it another go. "You, me, ethcape," he said, gesturing to the door.

"Escape?" Dameron asked.

"Ethcape!" Ben confirmed.

Dameron crossed his arms and gave Ben a skeptical look. "How do you intend on doing that, exactly?" he asked him.

His legs wobbled a bit, but Ben managed to get to his feet without Dameron's assistance. For all her feisty enthusiasm, Ben wasn't sure how competent this guard really was. Perhaps she hadn't considered him much of a threat because she had thrown him in the cell without checking if he was armed. Gesturing to Dameron to stand back, Ben produced his lightsaber and activated the white blade.

"You've got one of those too, have you?" he heard Dameron mumble. Disregarding this comment, Ben thrust the blade into the cell door. A powerful heat struck his face as he began cutting through the thick metal door. He was much stronger now than he had been in the past, but in his enfeebled state the task was far more difficult to him. Finally after several minutes, he completed sawing a circular pattern out of the door and kicked the metal aside, granting them access to the hallway.

"Come on," he said to Dameron, noting with pleasant surprise that he was having an easier time speaking than just a few minutes ago.

"Where are you taking me?" Dameron asked. "Because I don't want to get into any more trouble as it is."

Ben gave him an incredulous look. "I'm your only hope, Dameron," he said, the numbness of his mouth forcing him to speak prosaically. The message was conveyed, however. There was no recovering from this point for him. Quite simply, the pilot had nothing left to lose.

Dameron seemed to come to the same conclusion. Shrugging, he threw up his hands and mumbled "Ah, what the hell," before following Ben out of the cell and into the hallway.

Looking both ways, Ben beckoned Dameron to follow him out of the prison ward. "Keep your head down," he whispered to the pilot as they emerged in the main corridor and were greeted by a flurry of activity. "We have a few minutes tops before they notice we're gone."

Eschewing the elevator for the stairs, the pair had made it up halfway to the hangar when an alarm system began blaring loudly, forcing them both to cover their ears with their hands. "_Emergency alert. Emergency alert. There has been a breach in the prison ward, cell 3117. All available units report._"

"Now what?" Dameron called out from a few flights below him.

"Just go!" Ben yelled back over the deafening sound of the klaxon. "Do you have a ship?"

"If they haven't taken it already," Dameron replied.

Hurrying up the final flights of stairs, Ben pushed the door to the stairwell open and rushed out into the hangar. A few moments later, Dameron emerged from behind him. "Where's the ship?" Ben asked him, glancing around nervously to see if anyone was watching them.

"Follow me," Dameron said, taking off running down the length of the hangar. Right hand still grasping his now-deactivated lightsaber, Ben followed after the pilot. Remarkably, no one stopped them as they streaked by, although Ben could swear that they were all watching them. Why would that be…?

Disregarding this question as irrelevant, he and Dameron came to a stop in front of a rather shabby looking shuttle. It looked quite a bit like an enormous, rusted gonk droid, in fact. "What the hell is this?" Ben asked Dameron who was looking up at the ship with a proud expression.

"This is my ship," he said, oblivious to Ben's incredulity.

"This isn't a ship, it's a relic!" Ben exclaimed.

Dameron rolled his eyes and shook his head as he walked away from him toward the already-unfurled ramp. "You and your sister are so much alike," he bemoaned.

"Pardon?" Ben asked as he followed after the pilot up the rusted ramp and into the main cabin of the ship.

"Pretentious and condescending as all hell, both of you," Dameron said, spinning around to point a finger at him.

"Hey, watch it!" Ben said. "I'm rescuing you right now! A little gratitude wouldn't hurt."

"I wouldn't need to be rescued if it weren't for your sister," Dameron countered.

Ben shrugged. "Fair enough," he conceded. "Anyway, where's the cockpit in this… ship?" he asked, biting his tongue so as to prevent himself from adding a derisive adjective to which Dameron might take offense.

Dameron was about to lead him out of the main cabin when a BB unit came rolling in from the hallway. The droid was beeping emphatically, clearly enthused to see Dameron. "Yeah, I know buddy," Dameron said to the astromech droid. "We're in a bit of a rush, though." He was about to walk past the droid when it stopped him by rolling directly in his way. "Say what now?" Dameron asked, looking down at the obtrusive droid with a startled expression. "Well that's not good."

"What's wrong?" Ben asked, having not heard what the droid said.

"BB-8 said the hyperdrive has been shut down," Dameron told him grimly.

"It has? But why?"

"It's basic procedure," Dameron explained. "All unauthorized vessels have to be incapacitated in some way by the hangar crew."

"Well can you fix it?" Ben asked, licking his lips nervously.

"Not in five minutes, I can't," Dameron said. "There's an internal and external component. I can't repair both at the same time."

"I can help!" Ben said enthusiastically. When Dameron gave him a skeptical look, Ben clapped his hands together in frustration. "Just tell me what to do, okay?" he said. "I work on droids all the time, how much different can ships be?"

"A lot different," Dameron said at once. "They're nothing alike."

Ben's face fell at this comment. "Well, it's not like we have any other alternative," he said. "Tell what to do."

Dameron hesitated a moment longer before folding. "Fine, take BB-8 with you," he said. "He can diagnose the problem and tell you what to do to fix it. Hopefully you won't need any tools."

Without wasting anymore time, Ben spun around and hurried out of the main cabin toward the ramp with BB-8 right on his heels. As he reached the ramp, however, he came to an abrupt stop when he saw that he was entirely surrounded by blaster-wielding Republic troops. Unable to stop himself, BB-8 went crashing into the back of Ben's legs causing him to stumble forward a bit before regaining his balance.

"Ben, what the hell are you doing?"

Looking up, Ben's eyes widened in abject terror as he saw his mother striding toward the ship. The soldiers parted before her, allowing her to march directly toward the base of the ramp.

"I can explain –" he began to say, but Leia cut him off.

"Come down here, now," she demanded, her eyes steely as she glared up at him at the top of the ramp.

Gulping loudly, Ben didn't even consider disobeying this order. Taking three heavy steps down the ramp, Ben was pulled forward by the collar of his robes when Leia reached out and grabbed him. Dragging him off the ramp, she pulled him down so that they were at eye level.

"Zorq told me about your ridiculous plan," she told him.

"Snitch," Ben grumbled. When he tried to look away, Leia tugged harder on his robes and forced him to look at her.

"I don't know what has gotten into you, but I cannot tolerate this level of recklessness, Ben," she said. "Especially not now. Do you understand?"

Frowning, Ben reached up and grabbed his mother's hand by the wrist and wrenched it away from his collar. Standing back upright, he elevated his chin in defiance as he stared down at her much shorter figure. "When I do it, it's reckless, but when Ania does it, it's somehow my fault?" he asked her. "It's always a double standard with you."

Leia flared her nostrils with fiery indignation. "How dare you –" she tried to say, but Ben interrupted her.

"You never treat me and Ania the same!" he accused.

"That's not true in the slightest!" Leia insisted.

"Yes it is!" Ben said, feeling flushed as the soldiers around them began to whisper amongst themselves. "You care about her more than me."

"Ben!"

"Do you deny it?" he asked.

"Of course I do!" Leia exclaimed.

Ben shook his head and took a step away. "You're lying," he said, jaw clenched as he pointed a finger at her. "And you know what else you're lying about?" he asked, switching tracks. "Sidious. You say you're so much better than him, but you two are completely the same. You're both tyrannical control freaks who destroy everything and everyone they touch! Luke was right to run away from you. He saw you for what you really are!"

Unable to bear his tirade any longer, Leia shrieked and thrust her hands out at her sides. Caught off guard, Ben was sent soaring off his feet and crashed painfully into the metal ramp behind him. He slid back down to the ground where he was deposited at his mother's feet. Looking up, he met her gaze with the utmost terror as she clenched her fists and trembled with rage.

"I am nothing like him!" she bellowed, her voice deep and cacophonous as it echoed about the vast hangar. "He tortured me and he continues to torture me every day of my life! You have no right to compare me to him! You don't understand anything, Ben! Nobody does!"

Hands held up over his face, Ben cowered before the unparalleled power exuded by Leia through the Force. The terror he felt was as raw and absolute as the one he had experienced just a day prior when he had foreseen Chandrila's destruction. He feared for his life, having entirely forgotten that the woman in front of him was his mother and instead perceiving her as the embodiment of destruction itself.

A beat passed, and the maelstrom in the Force seemed to temper. Leia's belligerent posture deflated a fraction as she glanced around to see that all of her soldiers had been blown away by the blast of energy she had unintentionally summoned. The glowing, incandescent element in her eyes faded as she looked down at her hands which were shaking horribly. Realizing what was about to happen, Ben struggled to his feet as quickly as he was able before Leia could completely fall apart.

"I'm sorry," Ben murmured as he wrapped his arms around his recalcitrant mother who feebly attempted to fend him off. "I shouldn't have said those things."

"I – I'm not like him," she whimpered into his ear as she ceased struggling and turned limp in his arms. "I'm not."

"I'm sorry," Ben said again, swaying slightly as Leia cried softly against his shoulder. "I didn't mean it."

Several minutes passed as Leia recomposed herself. All the while, the soldiers who had been expelled by the blast began to return into formation. They all eyed their commanding general warily, unsure what to do. Ben watched the brewing tension with apprehension. Finally, his mother ceased crying and pulled away from him.

"I can't do this right now, Ben," she said, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. "I'm so afraid of losing Ania. You understand that, don't you?"

"Of course I do," Ben said.

"I can't afford to lose you right now, Ben," Leia said. "I need you to support me."

"And I will, as long as you support me in return," Ben said boldly. "I know you're stressed about Ania, but you can't blame me for what's happening."

Leia considered him for a moment before nodding. "You're right," she said. "I'm sorry as well. I haven't treated you well at all." She paused, swallowing hard as she struggled to look him in the eye. "I'm scared, Ben," she confessed in a small voice. "I'm scared I'm going to lose her again."

"You're not going to," Ben insisted, reaching out and grabbing her gently by the shoulders. "Ania's going to be okay. She can look out for herself." When Leia bit her lower lip and looked away, Ben squeezed her shoulders before letting her go. "I want to go find Luke," he said purposefully. "It's clear that you need him right now."

"No, Ben!" his mother rejected at once. "I need you! You can't leave me right now!"

Ben hesitated as he considered this heartfelt entreaty. On the one hand, it was flattering to know how desperately his mother needed him. On the other, however, Ben knew that he couldn't be what she needed him to be. What she needed was someone to help her keep a level head during this trying time. That person had always been Luke, not him. Even so, he could concede that it was dangerous to leave Leia alone when she was in such a fragile emotional state right now.

"Alright, but I'm going right after we rescue Ania," he said. Leia opened her mouth to object, but Ben didn't let her. "We can't delay this any longer," he insisted. "We need Luke."

Once again, Leia tried to speak but was interrupted by an audible vibration in her pocket. Grumbling in frustration, she reached down and produced her comlink. "What is it?" she asked sharply.

"_General Skywalker, we're about to drop out of hyperspace into the Jakku system,_" the voice of General Dune said over the comlink. "_You should get to the bridge._"

Leia's eyes widened as she nodded her head. "I'll be right there," she said, the authoritative voice of the general replacing that of the terrified mother in a heartbeat.

"_Admiral Ackbar is awaiting orders for the 7__th__ Fleet as well, ma'am,_" Dune said.

"Tell him not to engage enemy forces and to keep all ships out of range of their turbocannons," Leia said as she spun around and began marching away. Unsure what to do, Ben hesitated for a moment before following after her, having to jog in order to catch up with his mother's powerful strides. "This is first and foremost a rescue mission," she said into the comlink. "I need to know where my daughter is before we initiate battle."

"_Yes, general,_" Dune said obediently. "_I will relay your orders._"

Pocketing the comlink, Leia glanced up to see him walking beside her. "It's going to be fine," he assured her with contrived optimism. "Don't worry."

Leia exhaled loudly as they made their way toward the hangar exit amidst a flurry of activity as pilots and flight crew rushed to their respective stations. "I'm afraid I can't do that, Ben," the general told him gravely.

* * *

Ania's whole body was wracked with a dull, aching pain. Occasionally, she would flinch as residual currents of electricity continued to afflict her weary limbs. Worst of all, however, was her left leg. From knee to toe, her leg felt as if it was on fire. She didn't know whether the pain was phantom or not, but it felt excruciatingly real to her regardless.

Her eyelids were fluttering as she slipped in and out of consciousness. She wanted nothing more than to sleep – perhaps never to wake back up – but the pain in her leg refused to admit this simple wish. So instead she lay there strapped onto the elevated table for hours on end, waiting for Rey to return so that she may resume torturing her. Ania didn't dread this nearly as much as she should. Of course, she feared the pain like anyone would, but deep down she understood why she was being subjected to it. She was guilty for having committed a horrible sin. Rey was only exacting revenge for what Ania had done.

She deserved this pain. Rey was entirely right; Ania deserved to suffer for what she had done.

It was this acknowledgement which kept Ania from crying. Instead, she merely rested her head against the leather padding of the table and waited with grim resignation. She didn't let herself think of her brother or mother whom she knew where probably terrified for her. All she allowed herself to think about was Rey. It was her fault that Rey had turned to the dark side. Sidious may have been responsible for capturing her, but it was Ania's doing which had rendered her susceptible in the first place. She had killed the girl's father. _Their _father.

Ania hadn't ever considered Rey in the way she knew Ben did before now: as a sister. On the contrary, Ania had always been irked whenever Ben referred to the girl as that. She was jealous; he didn't want to share Ben with anyone else. She was Ben's sister, damnit! No one else, just her! But now she could understand why Ben felt this way. He appreciated how close Rey had been to their father. In this sense she was far more Han's child than either of them had been. She at least had known the man whereas she and Ben had not. Rey probably considered them as imposters, claiming Han as their father without hardly knowing nor caring for him.

_I'm sorry. _

_I'm so, so sorry. _

"F-forgive me," Ania forced herself to say out loud, her chapped lips and parched throat screaming in protestation. "Forgive me, F-f-father."

Every night, Ania repeated this ritualistic apology. Now, however, she was apologizing to more than just her father. Now she was apologizing to Rey, the girl whose life she had destroyed with one barbaric act. She didn't expect to be forgiven, nor did she feel as if she deserved to be. Nevertheless, she felt obliged to seek penance. It was all she could do to keep the guilt at bay like her mother wanted her to do.

Just then, the door to her cell opened once more, causing Ania to squint as the room was flooded with bright white light from the hallway. "Ren wants the prisoner," she heard a voice say.

"Are you sure? I didn't hear anything about that," a second voice said.

"Orders came from Ren himself," the first replied.

"Oh, okay."

Eyes adjusting to the brightness, Ania saw a Stormtrooper enter the room and approach her table. Ania licked her desiccated lips nervously as she watched the soldier come to a stop in front of her and hectically begin removing her restraints.

"Where… are you taking me?" she asked, her voice horribly hoarse and difficult even for her to understand.

"Keep quiet," the Stormtrooper said in a whisper. Releasing her from her final restraint by her legs, the trooper stepped away and beckoned her forward. "Come on," he said urgently.

"I… I…"

The Stormtrooper stared at her blankly for a moment before realizing her predicament. "Oh," he said. "You can't walk?" Ania nodded feebly. The Stormtrooper glanced behind him for a moment before taking a step forward and taking her by the shoulders. Ania limply allowed herself to get dragged away from the leather padding of the table and down to the ground. Her knees buckled and she quickly reached up to grab the Stormtrooper's arm to stabilize herself.

"Aren't you going to… bind me?" she asked, feeling a wave of debilitating lightheadedness as she looked up at the masked Stormtrooper.

"No," the soldier said with a shake of his head. "Come on, lean on me."

Bewildered, Ania nevertheless complied. Wrapping her arm around the benevolent Stormtrooper's shoulder, Ania leaned heavily against him as he led her out of the cell. Her unresponsive legs dragged a bit as she struggled to keep up with her companion's long strides. "S-slow," she pleaded, shutting her eyes tightly as the room began to spin.

"I can't," she heard the Stormtrooper say. "Come on, try to keep up."

And so Ania persevered onward in spite of her burgeoning nausea. Feet skidding against the slick ground, Ania found herself being led leftward toward a small alcove. Where was this Stormtrooper taking her? Unable to ask, Ania allowed herself to be dragged away, more or less entirely unable to walk on her own by this point.

"Here," the Stormtrooper said as she felt herself be released and propped up against a wall. She turned her head to the right and rested her cheek against a mercifully cool metal beam. Relieved by the sensation, Ania managed to open her eyes once more. As she did this, she saw the Stormtrooper reach up and remove his helmet.

"What… what's happening?" she asked, brow furrowed as she laid eyes on the man in front of her. He was breathing heavily and his dark skin was glistening with sweat.

"This is a rescue," the man said. "I'm helping you escape. Can you fly a TIE fighter?"

"A… a what?" Ania asked, eyes blinking rapidly as she internalized this bizarre combination of words. Her brain felt fuzzy and discombobulated as she was having a difficult time processing what the man was telling her. Was he not with the First Order? Why was he doing this?

"I'm breaking you out!" the man said in a hushed voice. "Can you fly a TIE fighter?"

Ania opened her mouth, but no words came out. She tried to swallow, but she found that she couldn't do that either as her throat was too dry. "Water," she finally managed to say, voice cracking as her larynx threatened to close shut.

"What?" the man asked.

"I need water."

"Oh!" the man exclaimed. "Sorry." Reaching behind his back, he produced a white canteen from his belt and handed it to her.

Hands trembling, Ania struggled with the cap of the canteen for a moment before the man reached out and undid it for her. "Thank you," Ania murmured as she raised the canteen to her mouth. She drank greedily for a minute before finally lowering the canteen and wiping her mouth with the back of her sleeve.

"Better?" the man asked as he took the canteen back.

Ania nodded as she felt moisture returning to her mouth. She felt significantly less dizzy as well, and she found that she no longer had to lean against the wall to stand upright.

"So can you do it?"

"Do what?" Ania asked.

"Fly a TIE?"

Ania hesitated as she considered the question. The truthful answer was no, but that wasn't really an option at the moment. "Of course," she said therefore.

The man's face broke out into a broad smile. It looked as if he was about to reach out and clap her on the shoulder, but he evidently thought better of it. Ania was glad. He very well may have knocked her over had he done that.

"Why are you doing this?" she asked him, unable to shake the feeling of bewilderment at this Stormtrooper's actions. "Why are you helping me?"

The man's ebullient expression sobered at this question. "Because it's the right thing to do," he said seriously.

Ania looked back at him silently for a moment before nodding. "Alright," she said. "Let's do this."

"Let's do this," the man responded in kind.

* * *

**Author's Note: Thanks for the feedback, everyone! I think I'll keep updating at my current rate (twice a week). At the very least, I hope I can give you something to look forward to while we stay in quarantine. **

**Side note: I've never played around with the sequel characters before (in large part because I don't think they're particularly well-written characters, but to each her own). This is the first time I've used Poe and Finn, so I hope I was able to capture their characters. They'll continue to play minor roles in the chapters ahead. **


	25. Covalence

Chapter 25 – Covalence

"Forgive me, Grandfather. I was not strong enough."

Rey kneeled before the urn with her head bowed, the unnecessary mask discarded on the floor to her left. She was trembling slightly, still jittery from the hour she had spent exacting revenge upon the Skywalker girl. The experience was supposed to be cathartic, and yet Rey didn't feel any semblance of resolution. On the contrary, she felt more frustrated than ever. The heir of Vitrius had defeated her in single combat and it had only been on account to the support of her Stormtroopers that she had been able to apprehend the young Jedi.

"_You are strong, yet still very young, my child,_" the soothing voice of her grandfather told her. Rising from the urn was the tendrils of smoke which made up the Sith. Raising her head, Rey watched as the smoke coalesced into the familiar figure of Darth Sidious. A vaporous hand reached out and stroked her cheek tenderly. "_Do not wallow in defeat, but revel in the chance to learn,_" the sagacious Sith told her. "_The next time you will not be so unprepared._"

Rey smiled faintly at her supportive grandfather. He could be harsh at times, but that was only because he had such high expectations for her. She knew that he loved her just like her father had. He was proud of her, and in turn she was proud to be his granddaughter. It felt so incredible to know where she came from – to know that she was a Palpatine. She suspected Skywalker felt the same about Vitrius…

…and about Ben.

"What should I do with her now, Grandfather?" Rey asked as Sidious retracted his hand. The ghostly figure considered this question for a moment, his smoky robes undulating and swirling as the dark material of which he was composed brewed.

"_We have no use for the girl,_" he said finally. "_You may dispose of her._"

Rey swallowed hard, dreading this instruction. "But why not use her as bait?" she asked. "To lure Vitrius?"

Sidious frowned down at her. "_We have no need of bate,_" he said flatly. "_When the time comes, Vitrius will come to us and we will destroy her._" Rey nodded and looked down. She felt Sidious' glowing eyes on her as she did this. "_Your thoughts betray you, my child,_" he said after a moment of consideration. "_You are afraid of what _he _will think of you. Is that right?_"

"Yes, Grandfather," Rey confessed at once, knowing better than to lie. She paused, her face contorting with bitterness as she remembered the bond she had sensed between the two Skywalker siblings. "He… _loves_ her," she spat viciously. "If I kill her –"

"_The son is irrelevant,_" Sidious barked, causing Rey to stop abruptly. "_I have told you this time and time again, Rey. He is not to affect your judgement in the future, is that clear?_"

Rey bit hard on her tongue as she forced herself to nod. "Yes, Grandfather," she intoned. Yet her acquiescence was merely for show. When the time came, she knew Ben would be the one to join her. After she assumed the mantle of the Sith, Ben Solo would be her brother again.

Just then, the door to her quarters slid open behind her and Sidious' tenebrous figure dissolved into an indiscernible cloud of smoke once more. Rising to her feet, Rey spun around to see a protocol droid standing in the doorway.

"Why are you interrupting me?" she asked tersely, summoning her helmet back to her hand and placing it on her head. It was a relief that it was only a droid. Her grandfather didn't want any sentient to see her without her mask on as it was too dangerous for them to know that she was a girl – and a fifteen year old girl at that. While Rey found the helmet burdensome and uncomfortable, she could understand the rationale behind it. No doubt, her subordinates would not respect her if they knew who was beneath the mask.

"I apologize for intruding, Lord Ren, but General Hux's shuttle arrived a few minutes ago," the droid told her with a bow of its head. "I was told that you wished to be alerted of the general's arrival."

Rey's irritation faded at these words. "I did," she said, placing her hands behind her back and stepping forward. "Lead me to him."

Following after the droid, Rey marched out of her quarters and down the lustrous black halls of her flagship, the_ Revenge. _It was on this ship where she had spent the better part of the past three years training under her grandfather's tutelage. When she wasn't training, she was busy commanding the forces of the First Order.

Her title as Master of the Knights of Ren and designated heir of the Emperor technically meant that she was in charge of the entire First Order_. _The reality of the situation, however, was that the dozen or so generals at the top of the military hierarchy wielded tremendous power which Rey could do little to check. This hadn't bothered her at first – after all, she desperately needed these men and women's help if she wanted to maintain control over the massively unwieldy apparatus that was the First Order – but now one of them had gone too far. General Hux, the most brazen defier of her authority, had taken it upon himself to seek a settlement with the New Republic without consulting her first. Even worse, he had gone ahead and used the superweapon to devastating effect despite promising never to do such a thing without the express consent of the entire warboard.

Rey knew at once what Hux had done when she felt that terrible tremor in the Force. Despite being the leader of a massive military empire, Rey would never condone such a wanton and barbaric use of violence. Besides her personal moralistic qualms, Rey knew that the destruction of Chandrila was a horrific move politically. Whereas their cause had once been sympathetic to the masses in the galaxy – especially to those in the Outer Rim where the rule of the New Republic was most vehemently abhorred – with this brutal act, the First Order would no longer engender this type of support. Overnight, they had gone from the liberators to the oppressors. How could they possibly expect to exert control over the galaxy now after what Hux had done?

Arriving at the committee room, Rey surpassed her ambling droid guard and marched past the sliding doors. There she found the entire leadership of the First Order congregated around a sleek black table. Standing at the head of the table where she normally sat was Hux himself, his pallid face glowing with smug pride as he looked up to see her entrance.

"Ah, Lord Ren," he said, bowing his head ever-so-slightly to her. "I hope you heard the news?"

Rey stopped at the opposite end of the table as she took a moment to scan over the generals in the room. The typically austere bunch was looking positively euphoric, broad smiles painted across each and every one of their faces. Clearly they had not been horrified like she had been by the news of Chandrila's destruction.

"I did," she answered laconically after a few moments of silence.

Obtuse as always, Hux failed to detect the displeasure in her voice. "Well then you know the war is won!" he exclaimed, reaching to the table and picking up a glass of some sort of frothy, sparkling beverage. Raising it into the air, he looked away from her and toward his colleagues. "Victory!" he pronounced.

"Victory!" they repeated with mirth.

Rey's face twitched underneath the mask. As Hux raised the glass to his lips, she clenched her right hand into a fist. The general let out a startled yelp as the glass in his hands shattered and the liquid went pouring over his chest. Cursing, he brushed his hand over his tunic and took a step away from the glass which was strewn on the floor beneath him.

"I must have gotten a little carried away," Hux said with a high-pitched chuckle as a blush spread across his cheeks. "Droid, come clean this up!" he ordered to the protocol droid who was standing by the closed door. When the servile droid made to perform this task, however, Rey held out her hand and stopped it.

"Leave it," she growled. Taking a step closer, she raised her hand and pointed a finger at Hux. "Your celebrations are premature, General," she said in a low voice. "The war is far from won."

Hux smirked at her. "I know what this is about, Ren," he told her in a condescending tone which only he would have the audacity to use. "You think this makes me more powerful than you, don't you?"

Stunned by his temerity, Rey stared back at the gloating general for a few moments with her mouth hanging open. How dare he speak to her in this way! Had he entirely forgotten who she was? Did he not remember that _she _was the heir to the Emperor, not him?

Fists shaking with outrage, Rey instinctively reached down to her belt where she found not one, but two blades. She was momentarily confounded before remembering that she had confiscated her grandfather's second blade from the despicable Skywalker several hours ago. Empowered by the thought of her foe's imminent demise, Rey produced the two lightsabers and activated them at her sides – the red blade at her right and the white at her left.

The room froze, the baleful hum of the twin sabers causing the generals' faces to blanch with fear. Hux alone seemed undeterred by the gesture, his smug smirk deepening at the sight. "You can't intimidate me, Ren," he taunted. "I'm too important."

Rey snapped. Slashing the two blades horizontally, she cut off the legs of the table, sending it crashing to the ground with a deafening smash. Startled, the generals all leapt backward in fright. Swiping her left hand to the side, she discarded of the wounded table which went flying into the opposite wall. No longer impeded by the table, she took three long strides towards Hux. Whirling the red saber in her right hand, she thrust forward with her left and pointed the white tip of the blade to Hux's throat. All was still. Neither Rey nor Hux so much as breathed as the latter stared down at the quivering blade with the utmost trepidation.

"You are not _important, _General," she said finally, her voice dripping with acrimony as she inched the white blade even closer to Hux's throat.

"You can't touch me," Hux said boldly, yet the squeaky pitch of his voice somewhat undermined the effect.

"Oh no?" Rey asked, tilting her masked head. "Then how come I can do this?"

Retracting the white blade, she simultaneously slashed forward with the red one. With deadly precision, Rey sliced through Hux's left wrist, only barely singing the fabric of his pants sleeve on the way past. The general's decapitated hand fell to the ground with a thud and he immediately screamed in pain as he hunched over. Rey didn't allow him the opportunity to nurse his wound, however. Clipping her red blade back to her belt, she lifted her right arm and pulled Hux into the air by his throat.

"The Republic is dead," she spat, her vitriol conveyed in spite of the modulation of her voice. "That means I am in charge. The Emperor chose me, not you, Hux."

"I… I'm sorry," Hux wheezed, his face rapidly turning purple as he clawed at his throat with his remaining hand and thrashed his legs wildly.

"Let this be a warning to you all," Rey said, looking away from Hux as she turned to the petrified generals and pointed her white blade at them. "Defy my authority again, and you will suffer a far worse fate than General Hux's." With that, Rey lowered her fist and allowed Hux to collapse to the ground. Retching horribly, the disgraced general caressed at his throat as saliva and mucus spewed out of his mouth and onto his chin. Relishing her foe's humiliation, Rey bared her teeth with animalistic pleasure. Her revelry was cut short, however, when she heard the door behind her open with a hiss.

"Generals, we have a –"

The person shut up abruptly when they saw what had transpired in the conference room. Frowning irritably, Rey reluctantly turned away from Hux's prone form to see the distinctive chrome-armored figure of Captain Phasma standing in the doorway.

"What is it, Captain?" she asked tersely.

Phasma hesitated a moment, her helmet doing little to belie her incredulity. "Er… I apologize for interfering, Lord Ren," she said. "There is a situation in the west hangar bay."

"A situation?" Rey asked, eyebrow arched.

"Yes, sir," Phasma said with a bob of her domed head. "It seems someone managed to steal a TIE fighter."

Rey froze, the ephemeral satisfaction which she had derived from beating up Hux shattering in an instant. "Skywalker," she snarled, a bitter rancor rendering her voice raspy. "She's trying to escape."

* * *

"Are you sure you know how to fly this thing?"

"Of course I do!" Ania snapped to her Stormtrooper companion who was seated against her back facing the opposite direction. "A little help, please?" she asked in a whisper as she returned her attention to the thoroughly befuddling assortment of triggers, switches, and throttles which lay before her.

"_Oh, now you want my help?_" her grandfather's voice said, indignant as always.

"Yes!" she cried.

"What?" the man behind her asked.

"Nothing!" she shouted. Glancing into the navcom to her right, Ania's eyes widened in fear. "Actually, something!" she said loudly. "We're about to have some company!"

"What are you talking about?"

A tremor ran through the entire vessel when they were suddenly thrown off course. Ania and the Stormtrooper both screamed as they began a tailspin.

"Help me! Help me! Help me!" Ania shouted as the TIE continued to tumble through space.

"_Ania, I fail to see how I could be of much help here,_" Anakin said with infuriating calm.

"Tell me what to do!" she shrieked.

"What the hell are you doing?" the Stormtrooper asked.

"_You know how to fly, don't you?_"

"Yes, but not –"

"_You see that throttle? That controls axial direction just like in any other ship._"

Ania blinked a few times as her mind cleared. "But in the Falcon –" she started to say, but Anakin cut her off.

"_Yes, it looks different,_" he said with uncharacteristic brusqueness. "_Its function is the same, though. You might want to pull up before you crash into that ship over there._"

Looking up out the window, Ania gasped when she saw that they were rapidly plummeting toward a cruiser. In the navcom she could still see three TIEs in pursuit. Acting on instinct, she grabbed the steering mechanism with both hands and pulled the throttles toward her as hard as she could.

The whole ship veered to the left abruptly, causing Ania's head to go smashing back against her headrest. "What's happening?" she asked in a high-pitched shriek.

"You're the pilot!" the Stormtrooper unhelpfully contributed, oblivious that she wasn't talking to him.

"_Your wing must have been hit,_" Anakin told her in a dire voice.

"What!?" she asked, horrified.

"_Don't worry, you'll be fine,_" he assured her, although he didn't sound especially confident. "_You're going to have to crash land on that planet if you want to escape those TIEs._"

"Crash land?" she repeated, utterly petrified by this point.

"We can't do that!" she heard the Stormtrooper shout. "We'll burn up in the atmosphere! This ship isn't fitted with heat shields!"

"_I will protect you, Ania,_" her grandfather's voice said calmly. "_I always have._"

"We don't have a choice!" Ania yelled to her companion. "We have to get away from those TIEs."

The Stormtrooper gulped audibly in fear. "I don't want to die," she heard him say, more so to himself than to her.

"Don't worry!" Ania insisted. "The Force is with us."

The Stormtrooper snorted derisively. "I'm so dead," he said in resignation.

"Don't say that!" Ania protested as she adjusted their course as best she could toward the dusty orb that was Jakku. "Hey, you never told me your name," she said, attempting to divert the Stormtrooper's attention away from his impending doom.

"I don't have a name," he said, sounding too stunned to express any emotion whatsoever.

"Of course you do! Everyone has a name," Ania said through gritted teeth as she willed the errant vessel to the right. She must have been using the Force without realizing it because there was no way their TIE should have been able to fly as straight as it was with a busted left wing.

"I have a classification, that's it," the Stormtrooper said.

"Well what's your classification?" Ania asked.

"FN-2187," the Stormtrooper answered at once.

Ania considered this for a moment. "FN, eh?" she said. "Finn, I'm going to call you Finn. Is that alright?"

A brief moment of silence. "Finn," the Stormtrooper repeated. "I like that."

Ania smiled in spite of herself. "Glad to meet you, Finn, I'm Ania," she said.

"Yeah, I know," Finn said. "Everyone knows that."

Oddly flattered by this, Ania's smile grew bigger in tandem with Jakku in the window which now dominated her field of view. The cockpit began to heat up, slowly at first and then rapidly to the point that she was entirely drenched in sweat.

"We're burning up!" Finn shouted.

"_It's unpleasant, isn't it?_" Anakin's voice said in her head. "_Burning alive is a terrible way to go. Believe me, I'd know._"

"I thought you were going to protect us!" Ania exclaimed.

"_Oh, calm down,_" Anakin said, and she could practically see him rolling his eyes at her. "_I'm not going to let my granddaughter get burnt to a crisp._"

"Well that's nice of you," Ania said snidely. "Could you make it a little less toasty in here?"

"Who the hell are you talking to?" Finn asked her.

"None of your damn business!" Ania shot back.

"You're crazy, aren't you?" Finn asked.

"No crazier than you," Ania pointed out. "What type of a Stormtrooper defects, anyway?"

"I have no idea!" Finn shouted. "I have no idea what I'm doing!"

"Well neither do I," Ania mumbled.

The trio fell silent as they continued tumbling through the atmosphere. Their battered TIE fighter trembled and shook, and at one point she was fairly sure the left wing must have completely been ripped off. Even so, Ania felt a resounding calm. Regardless of how facetious and glib he could be, Ania knew that she would always be safe as long as her grandfather was by her side. Now was no different despite the perilous circumstances.

By this point, they had fully entered into the atmosphere and the entire window in front of her was emblazoned with red hot heat. Debris and dust pelted the vessel which continued to rattle ferociously, causing Ania's whole seat to vibrate. For several minutes, Ania scarcely breathed as she grasped onto the now-useless throttles with a desperate grip. Finally, the rattling began to abate and the brutal heat enervated. The window cleared somewhat and Ania could make out the sandy terrain of the planet below. They were precipitating downward with no means to decelerate, and Ania began to panic as the ground came closer and closer.

"We're going to crash!" she shrieked, no doubt startling Finn who couldn't see how close they were. Anakin provided no assurance to her, serving to only exacerbate her terror. Ania screamed as she shut her eyes tight and covered her face with her hands just before they went crashing into the planet surface.

Yet no collision came. Instead, the entire vessel came to a sudden stop a few dozen feet from the ground, the abruptness of their brake causing Ania's whole body to jolt forward only to be restrained roughly by the seatbelt strapped over her chest. Realizing that she was still screaming, Ania closed her mouth as she struggled to reorient herself into a more comfortable position.

"Are you okay?" she heard Finn ask.

"I… I think so," she said, patting herself down as she failed to find any sort of injuries. Her ribs were bruised from the violent deceleration, but other than that she was miraculously fine.

"What happened?" Finn asked. "Did we land?"

Ania blinked a few times as she squinted out the window which was now more or less below her rather than in front of her. "We didn't land," she said. "We stopped."

"Stopped? I don't understand."

Ania merely smiled, marveling in the power of the Force. Their vessel was suspended several dozen feet in the air, hovering with ethereal calm above the sandy sea. Anakin had saved her again.

"Thank you, Grandfather," she whispered, hoping Finn would not overhear her.

"_It is not I who you need to thank,_" Anakin said.

"What do you mean?" Ania asked, perplexed. Just then, the TIE began to descend once more – yet this time at a controlled pace. Bewildered by this turn of events, Ania looked around as she sought to see who or what was responsible for their salvation if not her grandfather. She found nothing, however. Half a minute later, the TIE came to a soft landing in the sand, and Finn and Ania collectively exhaled in relief.

"Help me pop off the hood," Ania said, unstrapping herself and standing up on the chair to reach the emergency hatch above them. She was too short to reach, however, even after getting up on her toes.

"Stop, just stop," Finn said, slapping her hand away as he too got out of his seat and reached up toward the hatch. "It doesn't open," he said, grimacing as he strained to push it open. "There must be a button somewhere to release it."

"Or you're just not doing it right," Ania countered.

Aggrieved, Finn looked down at her and frowned. "Just check the control panel, would you?"

Ania glanced down with ambivalence. There must have been two dozen different switches and levels on that control panel. She had no idea which one to press.

Ania looked back up quickly when she heard Finn yelp in shock and stumble back down onto his seat. "What happened?" she asked, seeing that he was clutching his right thumb.

"Look!" he exclaimed, pointing up at the hatch.

White sparks were shooting out in all directions as something from above began cutting through the metal. Apprehensive about who might be doing this, Ania instinctively reached to her belt only to remember that there was no lightsaber there.

A moment later, the hatch fell away and collided against the floor with a loud clang. Finn and Ania both squinted as they looked up out of their newfound sunroof.

"Miss Skywalker, are you alright?" a voice asked.

Holding a hand up to her eyes, Ania saw a shadowy head looking down at her. "Cara?" Ania asked, recognizing the countenance of her mother's chief of staff, General Dune.

"Are you alright?" Dune asked again.

"I'm fine," Ania answered without hesitation. "What's going on? How did you save us?"

"Oh, that wasn't me," Dune said with a thin smile. "Here, take my hand."

Reaching up, Ania accepted Dune's calloused hand and allowed herself to get pulled up out of the cockpit. Remarkably strong for an older woman, Dune had no problem doing this with just one arm. Struggling out of the TIE, Ania saw that the fighter's once-sleek exterior had been charred beyond recognition. Without Anakin's protection, there was no way they would have survived entering the atmosphere like they had.

"Follow me," Dune said before sliding off the surface of the TIE and landing in the sand below. Sparing a thought for Finn who was still in the cockpit, Ania stopped to lend him her hand and help him out as well before following after the general.

"Cara, are you going to explain –"

"Who is this?" Dune interrupted, pointing up at Finn who was still standing on the top of the TIE. "Why is a Stormtrooper with you?"

"This is Finn, he helped me escape," Ania said, startled by the vehemence in Dune's voice.

"Why would he do that?" Dune asked suspiciously, her hand hovering over her holster.

"I, er… I don't know," Ania admitted as she and Finn looked at each other. "You can trust him though." Dune didn't respond to this, her eyes narrowed as she stared down the renegade Stormtrooper. "Finn, come on down," Ania suggested, beckoning her companion to follow her down to the ground.

"How do you know he's not a spy?" Dune asked as Finn slid down the TIE, his armor clattering as he did so.

"He's not a spy," Ania dismissed. "He's being perfectly truthful."

Dune finally looked away from Finn to meet Ania's gaze. She considered her for a moment before nodding. Dune was very familiar with the Force, having worked closely with Ania's mother for decades. No doubt she understood that Ania's trust in Finn was not merely based on intuition. "Very well," she said after a tense silence. "But I'm going to insist that you hand me your weapon."

"I don't have a weapon," Finn said bashfully. "I had to submit it for inspection after… after, uh…" Finn trailed off, blinking rapidly as he looked away. Ania sensed a great deal of guilt and disgust emanating from the young man. Was it possible he had been horrified by what he had seen the First Order do at Tuanul? If so, how could that be? Stormtroopers didn't have consciences. She thought those had been beaten out of them from birth.

"In that case, perhaps you should take off your armor," Dune said after a pause. "You don't want to attract too much attention to yourself."

Finn nodded readily, looking more than happy to strip himself clean of the distinctive white armor. As he was doing this, Dune surprised Ania by reaching out and placing a hand on her shoulder. "I'm so glad to see you safe," she told her. "Your mother was terrified when she heard what happened."

"So Poe got to her? Did he give her the map?"

Dune arched an eyebrow. "I don't know," she said frankly. "Perhaps you should talk with someone else about that."

"What do you mean?" Ania asked.

"Just follow me."

Obliging, Ania beckoned Finn to follow her as they made their way away from the TIE and toward a troop transport which she hadn't noticed until now. The three trudged through the sand for a hundred meters or so before a couple of soldiers emerged from the transport to greet them – the tattoos on their biceps revealing their elite dropper status.

"At ease, soldiers," Dune said to the saluting droppers. "How is he?"

"Hard to say, ma'am," the dropper on the left said. "He's unresponsive."

Dune licked her lips nervously and glanced at Ania. "Perhaps you might be able to help," she said. Ania wanted to ask what this was about when Dune turned away from her back toward the droppers. "You two frisk this man," she ordered, gesturing to Finn who had discarded his armor and was wearing a black shirt and slacks. "Make sure he doesn't have any weapons or wires."

"But Cara –"

"I am in charge here, Miss Skywalker," Dune interrupted tersely. "If you would please follow me."

"It's okay," Finn assured her as the two droppers stepped toward him. "I'll be fine."

Ania hesitated a moment longer before acquiescing and following after Dune up the ramp into the troop transport. The vessel featured a large, empty compartment with grab handles dangling from the ceiling for the soldiers to hold onto. It wasn't a luxurious ride – prioritizing the space over comfort so as to maximize the number of soldiers who could be transported. Congregated in the back of the compartment were four other droppers, two of whom kneeled down on the ground as they tended to someone propped up against the wall.

"Step aside, step aside," Dune said as she marched over toward the group, Ania scurrying after her. The obedient droppers complied with this order at once, the two jumping to their feet and getting out of the way so that their commanding general could approach. As the four soldiers cleared, Ania gasped when she saw who it was they had been tending to.

"Ben!" she exclaimed, rushing forward and falling to the ground by her unconscious brother's side. His head was lolled forward against his chest and his limbs were sprawled out by his sides. Taking his face into her hands, she craned his head up so that she could investigate him. "What happened?" she asked, her voice high-pitched with fright as she saw that Ben was entirely unresponsive to her touch.

"He saved you, that's what happened," she heard Dune say from above her. Releasing Ben, Ania looked up toward the imposing general. "He held up his hands and stopped your ship in midair." She paused, sparing a glance toward her soldiers and shaking her head in awe. "It was the most incredible thing any of us have ever seen."

So that's what her grandfather had meant. Anakin hadn't saved them, Ben had. Returning her attention to him, she gaped at his slumbering figure for a moment. Never would she have imagined Ben being capable of performing such a feat. Sure, she knew Ben was strong with the Force and he was perhaps more attuned to it than she was, but even so, suspending a plummeting ship in midair sounded like something Leia would have done, not Ben.

"He collapsed right after he landed you down safely," a soldier to her left said. "He's out stone cold. Nothing we do seems to do anything."

Pressing a finger to his pulse, Ania waited for a few moments before detecting a disturbingly faint beat. "He's barely breathing," she commented, noting the atypically long duration between the rise and fall of his chest. "Can't you do something for him?" she asked the soldiers.

"We gave him a dose of epinephrine," one of them told her. "It helped a bit, but his heart rate is still low."

"Then give him more!" Ania demanded, her throat beginning to constrict as panic washed over her.

"We already gave him the maximum dosage. It wouldn't be safe to give him any more than that."

Pursing her lips, Ania ran her hand through Ben's damp hair in a vain attempt to calm herself down. Exhaling shakily, she closed her eyes and bowed her head. Placing her left hand on Ben's chest, Ania shut out all the distractions and focused entirely on her brother's frail Force presence. The familiar warmth which he typically exuded was dim and fluttering. Reaching out to him, however, Ania felt Ben reciprocating in kind in spite of his enfeebled state. He sought out her presence like a drowning man seeks air – tendrils of energy clawing and kneading at her own Force signature. Initially startled by the extent of his desperation, Ania relaxed and allowed him to latch onto her.

It was a bizarre sensation; intimate in the purest sense – Ania felt herself nurturing Ben back to consciousness as she shared her life energy with him. Strengthened by their covalent bond, Ben's Force presence began to rejuvenate. Confident that she had helped him as best she could, Ania retracted her hand from Ben's chest and opened her eyes. A little color had returned to her brother's formerly pallid face, confirming to Ania that he was going to be alright.

"He's going to be okay," Ania relayed to Dune and the droppers. "He was probably just drained from earlier."

"Are you sure?" Dune asked from behind her.

"Completely," Ania said assuredly.

The sound of approaching footsteps caused Dune to turn around. Emerging into compartment was Finn followed by the two droppers who had been frisking him. "He's all clear, General," one of the droppers informed Dune as they walked toward them.

"Very well," Dune said. "But I'm taking him straight to General Skywalker when we're able to leave here."

"When we're able?" Ania repeated. "What do you mean? Why can't we leave now?"

Dune turned back to look at her. "There's a battle taking place overhead right now," she informed her. "General Skywalker deployed the 7th Fleet as a diversionary force so that we could land on Jakku and rescue you."

"She did that?" Ania asked, surprised. "That seems… reckless."

Dune shared a look with her fellow droppers. "Indeed, it was," she agreed. "I believe the General's judgment is impaired when it comes to you and your brother."

"Excuse me?" Ania asked, bristling with indignation on her mother's behalf.

"The General Skywalker I served during the previous war would never have done something as foolhardy as this," Dune said, apathetic to Ania's irritation. "She prioritizes your safety over the safety of her forces. Dozens may die today because of this ill-conceived operation."

Ania swallowed hard and looked away toward Ben as she processed this criticism. "I… I'm sorry," she said, speaking as much to Ben as she was to Dune. "I shouldn't have placed myself in danger," she added, thinking back to her fight with her brother several days prior. She had been furious at him for how overly protective he was being. At the time, she had considered his attitude to be supercilious and superior. Now, however, she could understand why he had been so adamant about not letting her go on her own. The galaxy was a dangerous place, especially for a person like her.

"You are young. Recklessness is inherent at your age," she heard Dune tell her. "But in the future, do keep in mind how your actions may affect others. We are at war, young Skywalker. Your mother must be able to operate without distraction for she is our greatest hope. Do you understand this?"

"Yes, general," Ania said abashedly, eyes still fixated on Ben who was beginning to stir.

"Good," Dune said. "I'll go inform General Skywalker that you are alright."

The no-nonsense general marched away toward the cockpit. The droppers dispersed, milling about the compartment so as to give her some space. Appreciative of their tact, Ania returned her full attention to her brother. "Can you hear me, Ben?" she asked in a whisper as his eyelids began to flutter. "It's me, Ania."

"Is he going to be okay?"

Looking up sharply, Ania saw a nervous Finn looming over her. Seeing the solicitous look in his eyes, Ania bit back the urge to snap at him for intruding on her privacy. "He'll be fine," she said once again, her voice heavy as she bowed her head away from Finn. "This is all my fault."

"What is?" Finn asked.

Ania shook her head, not wanting to talk about it with this man who was essentially a stranger to her. Even so, she shared a close bond with Finn. She was indebted to him for saving her life and she didn't want to seem ungracious by reverting back to her characteristically brusque introversion.

"He saved us both," she told Finn. "We owe our lives to him." Her eyes scanned over Ben's face as she contemplated this. Her lower lip suddenly began to tremble as she realized how much unnecessary pain she must have inflicted upon her poor brother. He must have been terrified when he learned that she had been captured much like her mother had been. "I'm sorry, Ben," she said into her unconscious brother's ear before resting her head against his chest. "I hurt everyone I love," she murmured, eyes shut tight as she listened to the rhythmic cadence of Ben's heartbeat. "I'm so sorry."


	26. Contrition

Chapter 26 – Contrition

Ben's head was pounding. A pulsating pain behind his eyes barraged against his skull, causing him to groan. He tried to reach up with both hands so that he could knead his weary temples, yet he found that the right one was pinned. He opened his eyes cautiously, the flood of light shocking his dilated pupils so much that he shut them tightly right away. Swallowing hard, Ben gave it another go as he opened his eyelids a fraction.

"Can you hear me? Mr. Skywalker?"

Mr. Skywalker? Who the hell was calling him that? He was either Ben or Senator Skywalker, never _Mr. _Skywalker.

"Hey, I think he's waking up," he heard the same voice say. "Are you awake? Can you hear me?"

Ben mumbled his affirmation, his throat feeling horribly parched as he did so. Squinting mightily, Ben lifted his head to see a dark-skinned man with a broad nose and anxious brown eyes looking at him.

"Who are you?" Ben asked as he attempted to sit upright.

"Hey, take it easy!" the man said, placing a hand on his left shoulder to restrain him. "You don't want to wake her."

Perplexed, Ben shrugged off the stranger's hand and looked down. There he saw someone's head draped across his chest. Surprised, Ben tilted his head a bit so he could see their face.

"Ania?" he asked, feeling a great surge of relief at the sight of his sleeping sister. "You're okay."

"Thanks to you," the man said, kneeling down in front of them. "You saved our lives."

"You were with her?" Ben asked, whispering now so as not to disturb Ania.

The man nodded. "I helped her escape off the _Revenge,_" he told him. "My name's Finn, by the way."

"I'm Ben," he said, extending his hand toward the man. The two shook gingerly, both of them concerned about waking Ania.

"How did you do it?" Finn asked him as he retracted his hand.

"Do what?" Ben asked, absently brushing some of Ania's hair off his chest and onto her back. Finn hesitated, his eyes darting to Ben's hand as he watched him perform this tender gesture.

"How did you stop our TIE?" he asked after a moment's pause. "Ania told me you did it, but she didn't say how."

Ben looked away from Ania as the memory flashed back to him. He had insisted upon accompanying Dune and her task force down to Jakku to find Ania. His mother had been reluctant at first, but he had ultimately convinced her, arguing that if anyone could find Ania, it was him. And that was exactly what he had done. Upon arriving on the planet's surface, Ben detected his sister's Force presence immediately. Sensing her sheer state of panic, Ben had been terrified that he wouldn't make it in time to save her.

That terror had been amplified a hundred fold when he had jumped out of the troop transport to see a burning TIE fighter plummeting out of the sky. He hadn't spared any time to think, rushing forward with his arms raised into the sky in the utmost expression of desperation. He hadn't expected anything to happen. He had been just as stunned as the droppers had been to see the TIE come to an abrupt stop about two dozen feet above the ground.

It had been the most physically demanding ordeal he had ever performed. Upon setting the TIE down in the sand, he had collapsed to his knees and fell square on his face. He didn't remember anything which had happened to him since.

"I… I have no idea," he confessed finally, looking back up to meet Finn's appreciative gaze. "It all happened so fast."

Finn nodded. "I understand what that feels like," he said knowingly.

Ben didn't have the opportunity to ask Finn what he meant by this because just then the pair both looked away when they heard the distinctive sound of boots approaching. Still squinting, Ben reoriented himself and found that he was back inside the troop transport. The droppers were standing at attention at the opposite end of the compartment as Cara Dune came marching over toward them. Ania stirred a bit, but nevertheless remained asleep against his chest.

Upon seeing that he was awake, Dune came to a stop in front of him and bowed slightly. "Senator Skywalker, it is a relief to see you conscious," she said. "How are you feeling?"

"Like hell," Ben answered truthfully as he struggled to extricate his arm from underneath Ania. Wrenching it free, he flexed his fingers as he felt circulation begin to return. "What's happening?" he asked quietly as he draped his freed arm around his sister's back. "Is the battle over?"

"I was just in communication with Admiral Ackbar," Dune informed him. "The First Order ships abandoned the system fifteen minutes ago. We can depart safely now." She spared a glance toward Ania. "You should wake her," she said, sounding a bit guilty about the request. "It's not safe to be seated when this vessel takes off."

"Yes, general," Ben said with a nod. Dune reciprocated the gesture before spinning around and striding back toward the cockpit. Ben watched her retreat for a couple moments before returning his attention to Ania who had nuzzled up closer to him since he had wrapped his arm around her.

"She's been through a lot over the past twenty four hours," he heard Finn say. Ben looked up languidly. His eyes felt heavy as his pounding headache refused to abate. "She's a very strong person."

Ben nodded in agreement, firmly aware that Finn didn't know just how true that statement was. Ania had been through some of the most hellish situations imaginable, and she had survived all of them to date. It wasn't that he doubted her strength, it was just that he didn't want to have to endure any more agony by herself. Ania didn't see it that way, however. In the future, they would have to do a better job communicating with one another. He would have to stress upon her how terrified he had been when he had seen her plummeting to her death in that TIE fighter. He needed her to guarantee to him that she wouldn't do anything dangerous like that again. Ben couldn't bear the thought of losing her too…

The engines beneath them suddenly roared to life, stirring Ben out of his ruminations. The deep vibrations coupled with the gentle hum finally caused Ania to wake up. Blinking a few times, she looked up at him as she retracted her head from his chest.

"Ben?" she asked groggily.

"Hey there, sleepyhead," Ben said with a flicker of a smile.

"Oh, Ben!"

Ben was startled when Ania flung her arms around him and hugged him so tightly that all the oxygen was expelled from his lungs. Wincing, Ben patted Ania's back feebly as struggled into a more upright position against the wall.

"I was so scared! Ben, I was so scared," Ania whispered into his ear. Unsure of what to say, Ben merely allowed her to hold onto him as he absentmindedly rubbed a circular pattern on her back. After a full minute, Ania finally withdrew her arms from around him and pushed herself away. "I saw her, Ben," she told him as she wiped her eyes with her sleeve.

"Her? Who are you talking about?" he asked, perplexed by this unprompted disclosure.

Ania glanced behind her toward Finn and the rest of the droppers who were all watching them curiously. Suddenly conscious of her surroundings, Ania blushed and quickly looked away. "Here," Ben murmured, holding his hand out to her. Taking it, the siblings helped each other get to their feet, Ben having to press his back firmly against the wall in order to persevere past the dizziness he experienced from standing up too quickly. Clutching Ania's hand tightly, Ben grimaced a bit as rubbed his eyes with his left hand.

"How are you feeling?" he heard Ania ask him.

"Alright," Ben fibbed, blinking a few times as he opened his eyes and looked down at her concerned expression. "I'm fine, really," he insisted.

"Are you sure?" Ania asked, pursing her lips with concern.

"Don't worry about me," Ben said, giving her hand a squeeze before releasing it. "Just a bit of a headache, that's all."

Ania looked as if she wanted to ask him something else, but she was interrupted when the two of them when careening backward as the ship lifted off without warning. Ben managed to snatch a hand grabber from the ceiling, but Ania was too short to reach so she went stumbling into the back wall. Suppressing a snicker, Ben offered his hand to her and pulled her back upright.

"They clearly didn't design this ship with you in mind," Ben commented.

"You think?" Ania grumbled.

"Hold onto my arm," Ben instructed. "We'll be in space soon enough." Ania complied, latching herself onto his wing as the ship continued to ascend at a sharp angle. Ben shut his eyes and felt his ears popping whenever he swallowed. Flying could be so unpleasant at times.

Several minutes later, the grade of the ship began to flatten and Ben released the breath he hadn't realized he had been holding. Feeling Ania let go of his arm, Ben followed suit and released the hand grabber.

"So who are you talking about?" Ben asked Ania. "Who did you see?"

Ania looked uncomfortable as she glanced over toward Finn who was standing awkwardly by himself a few meters away. "I shouldn't have brought that up," she said in a low voice. "I'll tell you when we're in private." Ben frowned but nevertheless agreed to drop the subject. "What about the map? Did Poe get it to Mom?"

Ben stared at her blankly, his brain taking a moment before understanding what it was she was asking him. With all the drama unfolding on Jakku, Ben had forgotten all about the debacle with Dameron and the map. "Oh, yeah," he said. "Well, sort of," he amended quickly.

"What do you mean sort of?" Ania asked.

"Mom kind of freaked out when the pilot showed up," Ben explained. "She blamed him for putting you in danger."

"What? That's ridiculous!" Ania insisted. "None of it was Poe's fault!"

"Believe me, I know," Ben agreed. "I tried to talk some sense into her, but you know how she can be. She was just scared, that's all. She wasn't thinking straight."

"So what happened?" Ania asked, chewing her lower lip nervously.

"She threw him in jail," Ben told her bluntly.

Ania gasped. "She didn't!" she exclaimed.

"Are you honestly surprised?" Ben asked. "She was worried sick, Ania. She doesn't respond well to that kind of pressure, you know that."

Ania bowed her head, clearly contrite. "I'm sorry," she mumbled. "I didn't mean –"

"Don't be sorry," Ben interrupted, placing a hand on her shoulder and beckoning her to look back at him. "You did a great thing getting that map."

"You think?" Ania asked in a small voice.

"Of course," Ben said, smiling faintly at her. "But maybe next time you shouldn't storm off without telling anyone. You scared Mom and me really badly."

"I know," Ania said. "I was just so… frustrated."

"I understand," Ben said, squeezing her shoulder reassuringly. "You're not used to being constrained like this." Ania nodded in affirmation. "But you have to understand that we're only doing this to protect you, not because we don't have faith in you."

"I know," Ania said again. "I was an idiot."

"So was I," Ben said. "I didn't handle the situation well."

"No you really didn't," Ania agreed with a snort. The levity faded as the two remembered the context of their fight. How Ben had made reference to the forbidden subject of their father's death.

"I'm just glad you're safe," Ben said finally, his voice sounding a bit husky.

"Me too," Ania said with a shudder. Ben pursed his lips as he scrutinized Ania's pained expression. He didn't know the full story yet since Ania was hesitant to disclose it to him in public. Based on her reaction, however, Ben could assume that whatever had happened to her had been bad. He could only be thankful that this mysterious man Finn had been there to rescue her.

Overcome with brotherly protectiveness, Ben leaned down and kissed his sister softly on the forehead before pulling her into another embrace. Arms wrapped around her tiny frame, Ben was determined to shield her from harm's way from here on out. He wouldn't fail his responsibilities a second time.

* * *

Upon returning to the _Skywalker, _Dune insisted that he and Ania go straight to the medical ward in order to be evaluated. The pair had protested, insisting that they needed to see their mother first thing, but Dune had been adamant.

"I'll tell her where you two are," she had told them. "Now go. The both of you look like hell."

Having conceded to the general's indomitable will, Ben and Ania were accompanied by a deeply anxious Finn as they plodded off toward the medical ward. Ben watched the younger man curiously. He had merely assumed that Finn had been a Republic operative, but the more he thought about it the less that made sense. How had he gotten aboard that First Order ship in the first place? And how come it didn't seem like he had any affiliation with the Republic military?

Ben was too exhausted to consider these questions extensively, however. Arriving at the medical ward, the three of them were admitted and taken off to separate wings. Ben's evaluation went quite quickly. The medical droids couldn't find anything wrong with him aside from lack of rest. The Rodian doctor who stopped by later was similarly expedient, performing a brief evaluation before letting him go with nothing other than a suggestion to drink more water.

"My best guess is you passed out from dehydration," the Rodian told him with a shrug. "You should be fine."

"Thank you, doctor," Ben said, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. He had known this was a waste of his time. "Can you direct me to my sister? She was admitted with me a half hour ago."

Upon consulting a datapad, the doctor gave Ben the instructions and he was soon on his way. He had just arrived at the examination room in question when a med droid opened the door and stepped out.

"Excuse me, I'm looking for a patient," Ben said to the droid.

"What is the patient's name?" the droid asked flatly.

"Ania Skywalker. I was told she was in this room."

"Ms. Skywalker has been transferred to the ER," the droid said, closing the door behind itself.

"What? Why?" Ben asked.

"The patient required advanced scanning and an IV insertion," the droid informed him. "You may follow me. I will lead you there."

Chewing his lower lip anxiously, Ben followed after the droid down the pristine white hallways toward the ER. There amongst the bustle he found Finn waiting by himself with his back facing a curtained-off section of the hall.

"Finn!" Ben called out. "What's going on? Is Ania in there?"

Finn nodded. "She's getting set up with an IV," he told him.

"Why?" Ben asked, coming a stop next to his concerned counterpart.

"She needs a lot of fluids, I think," Finn explained. "I think they're also worried about internal organ damage."

At this, Ben's eyebrows shot up his forehead. "Organ damage?" he repeated, aghast. "But why? What happened?"

Finn looked away, visibly uncomfortable all of a sudden. "I take it she didn't tell you?" he asked.

"Tell me what?"

Finn furrowed his brow as he turned back to look at him directly. "She was tortured really badly," he told him grimly. "Worse than any other prisoner I'd seen before."

A fiery fury flared up within him at this disclosure. Interspersed amongst the rage, however, was a biting sense of guilt. This was partially his fault. He had let this happen to her. "Who?" he asked in a growl. "Who did this?"

Intimidated, Finn gulped loudly as he looked up at the taller man's furious expression. "You wouldn't know him," he said in a high voice. "No one in the Republic knows about him."

"Oh no?" Ben asked, arching an eyebrow.

"His name is Ren," Finn said.

Ren.

Ben's vision was tinged with red as a massive conflagration burned in front of him, the ruins of Luke's temple disintegrating before his eyes.

"_We are the Knights of Ren. We have come to destroy the Jedi._"

"_Who do you serve?_"

"_We serve the Sith._"

Ben turned away from Finn, eyes shut tight as he attempted to regulate his breathing. His face twitched, his attempt to contain his rage proving futile. Ben had never before despised anyone as much as he did this man Ren. He had taken Rey away from him and now he had attempted to do the same with Ania. This man sought to destroy everything and everyone he had ever loved. What monster lay behind that horrific mask? He needed to know…

"You really love her, don't you?"

Turning back toward Finn's voice, his demons began to fade as he returned to his surroundings. "Pardon?" he asked.

"Ania," Finn said. "You love her."

Ben blinked, bemused by this unsolicited observation. "Of course I do," he replied. "She's my sister."

Finn contemplated him with a curious expression for a few moments. "I've never seen that before," he said finally.

Intrigued by this statement, Ben tilted his head at Finn. What did he mean by that? Had he never seen two people express love for one another? How could that be?

Ben didn't have the opportunity to consider this too much further, however, because he was startled into looking up when the whole ER seemed to fall silent. Initially confused, Ben quickly discovered the reason for this abrupt hush: the General herself had arrived. As she strode toward him with her cape billowing behind her, Ben felt an instinctive urge to salute toward his own mother who exuded the utmost martial leadership. Following closely behind her was Cara Dune.

"General Dune told me what you did on Jakku, Ben," Leia said as she came to a stop in front of him and Finn. "I am quite impressed."

Ben nodded appreciatively at the rare compliment. "Thank you," he said, unsure what to call her in the presence of Finn and Dune. 'Mom' felt too informal, 'Mother' too awkward, and 'general' thoroughly uncomfortable. "I only did what you would have done," he added.

Leia smiled thinly at him. "Indeed you did," she said. "I am proud of you, Ben."

Beginning to blush, Ben quickly looked down at his boots as he relished the praise. "General Skywalker, this is the man I was telling you about," he heard Dune say. "This is Finn, the Stormtrooper who helped your daughter escape."

"What?" Ben exclaimed at once. "You're a Stormtrooper?" he asked Finn.

Finn winced. "I… I was," he said, sounding unconfident.

"Was?" Leia asked, eyebrow quirked curiously. "What changed?"

Wringing his wrists, Finn seemed unable to meet Leia's intense glare so he chose instead to stare down at the floor. "I don't know," he confessed weakly. "I just sort of… woke up."

"Woke up?" Leia repeated, taking a step closer toward Finn, no doubt serving to amplify his anxiety even more.

"It all happened so fast," Finn mumbled to the floor.

A tense silence ensued as Ben stared back at Finn with his mouth hanging slightly ajar. He hadn't known it was even possible for a Stormtrooper to defect. The First Order abducted children from birth and raised them for combat – not unlike the old Jedi Order, in fact. In this context, Finn's odd behavior suddenly made much more sense to him.

"Did you have your blood drawn today, Finn?" Leia suddenly asked.

Perplexed by the question, Finn finally looked up to meet her gaze. "No," he said. "Why?"

Leia didn't answer him. "Droid!" she called out, beckoning a medical droid over. Obliging with the demand at once, the droid came floating over. "I want you to take a sample of this man's blood as soon as possible," she ordered.

"Yes ma'am," the droid said. "What would you like us to test for?"

"Don't test for anything," Leia said with a wave of her hand. "Send the vial to my quarters as soon as you have them."

"Very well, ma'am," the droid said without asking her to explain why. Ben, on the other hand, was far more inquisitive.

"What is this about? Why do you want Finn's blood?" he asked once the droid had floated away with a befuddled Finn in tow.

"I'll tell you later," Leia said in a hushed voice. "I want to see Ania right now."

Ben hesitated for a moment before deciding to drop the subject. "She's right in there," he said, pointing toward the curtained area. Right on cue, another medical droid emerged from behind the curtain and drifted away. "They probably just finished hooking up her IV," he explained to his mother.

"Good," Leia said. "Dune, you may leave us," she added to her chief of staff.

"Yes, ma'am," Dune said, saluting before spinning away on her heel and marching off in the opposite direction as Finn. Without sparing another moment, Leia made her way toward the curtained area. Ben followed after her as she pushed the veil aside.

"Mom," he heard a very small voice say.

"Ania."

Taking two long strides, Leia approached the chair Ania was seated on and leaned down to kiss her on the forehead. Ben closed the curtain behind him and stood with his arms crossed as he watched. As was typical, Leia acted with uncharacteristic tenderness around her daughter with whom she felt uniquely comfortably expressing her affections. Standing back upright, she dragged a stool from the corner and set it down by Ania's side.

"Mom, I'm so sorry –" Ania began to say as Leia sat down, but her mother quickly cut her off just like Ben had done.

"Don't apologize," she instructed, reaching out and taking Ania's free hand into her own. "We will discuss this later. Now I just want to know if you're alright."

Ania didn't answer right away as she glanced up at the saline dripping from the bag into the IV which snaked its way down and into her left arm. "I'll be okay," Ania said, her voice once again sounding high-pitched and girlish in contrast to the much deeper tone she adopted when speaking with him or anyone else. "The doctor said they're going to put me in a bacta tank after my fluids are up."

"What happened?" Leia asked, releasing Ania's hand as she leaned forward on her stool. "What happened after Dameron abandoned you?"

"He didn't abandon me," Ania said defensively. "I told him to go. He brought the map back, didn't he?"

"The map is immaterial," Leia growled. "He shouldn't have allowed you to get into such a dangerous situation in the first place."

Ania opened her mouth, but evidently thought better than to pursue the argument further. She repositioned her left arm, grimacing slightly as she scratched at the skin around her IV. Ben watched her warily, determined to intervene before she accidentally tore the IV out.

"Well, after I told Poe to leave," she began, emphasizing her role in the pilot's departure. "I left Lor San Tekka's home and went outside to see that the First Order forces were landing." She paused, her eyes glazed over as she ceased fiddling with the IV and draped her right arm across her lap. "There must have been a whole brigade down there. I took out a few of them with a blaster a local gave me before pulling out my lightsaber."

"Ania, no!" Leia said. "Why would you do something so dangerous?"

"It didn't feel dangerous," Ania said, meeting her mother's gaze with remarkable calm. "I felt invincible. Nobody could touch me. Including her."

"Her?" Ben asked, inserting himself into the conversation as he took a step closer behind his mother.

Ania swallowed hard as she looked up at him. "Ren," she said simply.

Ben froze. "Ren?" he repeated. "Ren's a woman? How do you know?"

Ania shook her head. "I didn't know at the time," she said. "The point is, I defeated her. I could have killed her if I wanted to, but I didn't. I was totally surrounded by that point. I…" She trailed off, bowing her head with shame. "I surrendered my lightsaber to her," she confessed. "It's gone."

"That's alright, Ania," Leia said softly. "You had no other choice."

"But I failed you!" Ania insisted, eyes shining as she looked back up at Leia. "I was supposed to restore that blade. Now it's back in the hands of the Sith!"

"The blade is irrelevant, Ania," Leia said. "All that matters is that you are safe."

"But what will I do without a weapon?" Ania asked.

"Do not worry about that," Leia dismissed. "We will address that issue when you are healthy. Please continue."

Ania hesitated for a moment before acquiescing. Sighing, she stared down at her lap before resuming her story. "Ren took me onto her shuttle and up to one of their capital ships," she said, her voice suddenly sounding hoarse as he suspected she had reached the worst part of her experience. The part where Finn said she had been tortured. Ben wasn't sure he wanted to hear it, but he forced himself to stay where he was. "They put me in a cell and left me there for hours. Grandfather was with me the whole time, of course, but he couldn't help me. All he could do was try to lighten the mood."

Leia snorted at this. "I hate it when he tries to do that," she said.

Ben scratched his temple, feeling supremely left out all of a sudden. He had spoken to Anakin, yes, but he didn't have the intimate relationship with him like Ania and Leia did. They actually heard him speak in their minds. While that weirded Ben out, he couldn't deny that he was a bit jealous. Why hadn't he been chosen to hear the voice of the Force itself?

"I was exhausted and dehydrated when Ren finally showed up," Ania continued. "That was when she revealed herself." A long pause followed before Ania finally raised her head and looked directly toward him. "It was Rey," she said flatly.

Ben blinked a couple times as he internalized this bizarre statement. What did that mean? Ren was… Rey? But… she couldn't be more than fifteen years old. She was just a girl still. There was no way that was possible.

"I don't understand," Ben said therefore.

"She hates me, Ben," Ania said, eyes beginning to glisten as her lower lip trembled. "She blames me for ruining her life. For killing her father."

Ben shook his head, determined not to listen despite knowing that everything Ania was saying corroborated the vision he had had three years prior when Sidious had told Rey that Ania was her enemy.

"She tortured me," Ania said, her voice practically a whisper as she lowered her head once more. "It went on for what felt like hours. But the whole time… the whole time, I knew I deserved it."

"That's absurd!" Leia said, her hands clenched into fists on her lap. "She had no right to lay a finger on you!"

"I deserve it, I deserve it," Ania whimpered as she covered her eyes with her right hand. "I killed my father. I killed her father."

Leia didn't contradict her, electing instead to place a hand on her daughter's trembling back as she began to weep. Face strained with conflict, Leia looked up to meet his stunned expression. Neither one of them could find anything to say.

Perhaps they knew there was nothing that could be said.


	27. Yes, Mother

**Author's Note: In case you didn't notice, I published two chapters today, so make sure to read chapter 26 before this one. Sorry if there was some confusion. **

* * *

Chapter 27 – Yes, Mother

Ania made a face as she peered down into the tank from the top of the ladder. Having been hooked up to the IV for about an hour, Ania looked considerably better as the deathly pallor had receded from her skin and had been replaced with a rosy hue. Now she was dressed in a cream-colored wetsuit and her hair was done up in a tight bun in preparation for the bacta treatment. Standing next to his mother a few feet away, Ben watched his sister contemplate the bright blue liquid for a few moments before looking back up at them.

"It smells," she commented, wrinkling her nose for emphasis.

"So what? They're going to put you to sleep when you get in anyway," Ben said in a vain attempt to reassure her.

Ania gulped nervously and pursed her lips. "I don't want to do it," she said in a small voice.

"Why not?" Ben asked, perplexed by her anxiety. She seemed to be far more cautious ever since the horrible ordeal on Jakku. Perhaps that was for the better.

"I just don't want to," Ania said petulantly as she made to climb back down the ladder.

"Ania," Leia said sternly, her arms crossed in front of her chest. "Get in the tank." Not daring to defy her mother's will, Ania froze, her foot hovering between rungs. "I'll be here the whole time," Leia said, her tone gentler this time around. "You have nothing to be afraid of."

Ben glanced at his mother out of the corner of his eye. He was impressed by her superior tact. It seemed whenever it came to Ania, she always knew just what to say. He only wished that she could be similarly perspicacious when it came to him.

"You promise?" Ania asked, brow furrowed with concern.

"Of course I do," Leia said patiently. "Ben and I will always be here for you."

Placed at ease by this assurance, Ania nodded before climbing back up the ladder. Using her sinewy arms to propel herself upward, she cautiously dipped her toes into the bacta. Taking a deep breath, she shut her eyes tight and plunged into the tank. Her feet skimmed the bottom before she shot back up and surfaced.

"It's cold," she told them, teeth chattering in affirmation.

"It'll be over before you know it," Leia said. "Seek solace in the Force if you are scared."

Ben could see that Ania took her mother's advice to heart as she exhaled loudly before shutting her eyes in a tell-tale sign of meditation. As she did this, a medical droid floated over and lowered a breathing apparatus over Ania's bobbing head.

"Count down from ten," the droid told her as he fixed the mask over Ania's nose and mouth. Ania inclined her chin and did as the droid said. A few moments later, her limbs went limp as she drifted into unconsciousness. Taking off the anesthesia mask, the droid expediently replaced it with an oxygen one. Upon ensuring that the mask was firmly in place and the tube was fully uncoiled, the droid gently pushed Ania down so that she was completely submerged in the bacta liquid. The droid then sealed the lid to the tank and ambled away.

Ben and Leia watched silently for a few moments as Ania's skin became covered with a layering of bubbles as the bacta did its work. She was totally at peace in contrast to how antsy she had been moment's prior, and Ben sighed in relief because of it. He felt Ania's stress as if it was his own on account to the intimacy of their bond. Seeing her at ease therefore placed him at ease as well.

"I'm sorry I failed her, Mom," Ben said finally, watching his mother's distorted reflection in the curved glass of the bacta tank. "I feel horrible about what happened."

"You shouldn't," Leia told him, she too electing to stare straight ahead at Ania rather than at him directly. "I was wrong to blame you."

Ben nodded, appreciative that she was willing to admit her erroneous treatment of him. Even so, he still felt a gnawing sense of guilt. He needed to rectify this situation somehow. "I want to go find Luke," he said therefore. "I think the time has come for him to return."

Much to Ben's surprise, his mother didn't say anything for a long while. He would have expected her to shoot him down right away and insist that it wasn't safe for him to go alone. It would have been perfectly reasonable for her to make this argument. After all, she had nearly lost one child, it was only rational for her to fear losing the other. After a long silence, she spoke in a weary voice.

"Luke's not coming back," she said. "If he wouldn't listen to me, why would he listen to you?"

Ben frowned as he considered this question. "Things have changed now," he said after a moment's deliberation. "Chandrila's been destroyed. Surely he'll come back now."

"You heard what he said, Ben. You heard how defeated he was," Leia lamented drearily. "He's been thoroughly broken. Nothing will bring him back."

"Do you really believe that?" Ben asked.

He heard her exhale out her mouth slowly. "I do," she said.

Ben finally looked away from the bacta tank and down at his mother. He towered over her, the greying part of her hair clearly visible to him as she bowed her head down. Suddenly seeing her in a similar light as how he saw his sister, Ben reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder. Having not expected the gesture, Leia looked back up and met his eyes for the first time.

"I won't fail you," he said. "I will bring Luke back."

Leia's eyes oscillated back and forth for a few moments as she scrutinized his determined expression. "Very well," she said finally.

Ben arched an eyebrow, surprised by her acquiescence. "That's it? No fight?" he asked.

Leia shook her head. "I won't fight with you anymore, Ben," she said. "You are your own man. You have proven that to me time and time again."

Ben took a moment to appreciate the profundity of this statement before speaking again. "I should go as soon as possible," he said, retracting his hand and placing it behind his back.

"You don't want to say goodbye to Ania?" Leia asked him.

Ben hesitated as he glanced back at the bacta tank. "I want to, but…"

"I understand," Leia said when he trailed off. "She won't want you to go."

Ben nodded, grateful that his mother was able to speak for him. "I want to be there for her, but I also know that this is too important," he said. "She'll understand, won't she?"

"Don't worry about her," Leia said. "She's been through far worse hardships. Besides, I will be here for her."

Ben knew he had no reason to worry, but he couldn't help himself. In a way, Ben was superfluous to Ania whenever Leia was around. She didn't lean on him in the same way she did with her mother. This was perfectly understandable, and it certainly shouldn't have bothered Ben as much as it did. He was her brother, not her father. Yet in an odd way, Ben felt a semblance of paternal responsibility for his sister. Perhaps it was because of the age difference between them, or perhaps it was because his relationship with their mother was so much different than Ania's.

Regardless, Ben knew that Ania was in good hands. Besides, he could appreciate that she could look after herself. She was extremely adept at this, having essentially survived on her own for the first eighteen years of her life. Even so, Ben knew that she was going to be especially vulnerable in the wake of this horrible experience. Leia would be more than up to the job, however. He couldn't use Ania as an excuse to not go after Luke.

And so he wouldn't.

"You haven't thrown that pilot back in jail, have you?" Ben asked cautiously.

"Who? Commander Dameron? To be honest, I totally forgot about him," Leia said.

"Good. I'll go track him down and ask him to fly me out this afternoon."

"You're not going to take that piece of junk from earlier, are you?" Leia asked, making a face at the thought of Dameron's rusty ship.

"Do you have any alternatives?" Ben asked her.

The corner of Leia's lip curled upward into a smile. "I have one in mind," she said.

* * *

"I can't believe this. I'm actually going to fly the Millennium Falcon."

Ben smiled, endeared by Dameron's buoyant enthusiasm. "What do you know about this ship?" he asked, leaning back casually in the co-pilot's seat.

Dameron turned and gave him an incredulous look. "It's the fastest ship in the galaxy," he told him matter-of-factly. "Did you not know that?"

Ben shrugged. "Look man, I don't know anything about ships," he confessed. "I told you, I'm more interested in droids."

As if waiting for this exact moment to time his entrance, Dameron's spherical droid BB-8 rolled into the cockpit and made a series of high-pitched beeps and whistles so as to gain the pilot's attention.

"Sounds like we're good to go," Dameron translated to him.

"Yeah, I can understand him too, you know," Ben said, frowning slightly.

"Sorry," Dameron apologized. "It's just habitual. Most people can't."

"Yeah, I get that," Ben said, feeling a sense of camaraderie begin to blossom between them. As he was considering this, Dameron turned back to the control panel and frowned. "What's wrong?" Ben asked when the pilot cursed under his breath.

"Looks like there might be a leak in the fuel line," he muttered. "They supposedly filled her up this morning, but the gauge says we're only at eighty percent. Hold on, I have to go check it out."

"Sure thing," Ben said, sitting back upright in his chair as he glanced at the fuel gauge as well.

"Come on, BB-8," Dameron said as he made his way out of the cockpit, his loyal droid companion following closely after him. Unsure of what to do with himself, Ben kicked his feet up and twiddled his thumbs absentmindedly. He closed his eyes and propped his head up on the plush backing of the chair behind him, a wave of exhaustion crashing down on him all of a sudden. He had had a very strenuous past few days with very little sleep.

Ben's brief moment of relaxation was abruptly cut short, however, when an icy chill startled him back upright. Eyes flying open, Ben's breath was ragged as the hair on his arms shot straight up. He had felt this cold before, yet he couldn't identify where.

Beginning to shiver, Ben clenched his jaw tight as he pushed himself up and out of the chair. Rubbing his arms together, Ben found himself leaving the cockpit as he pursued the source of this disturbance. Slowly he plodded forward as he took a turn toward the main hold of the ship. The compartment was unsurprisingly entirely empty, yet for some reason the hologram table was activated – the holographic Dejarik figures milling about on the checkered surface as they awaited instructions.

Taking three steps toward the table, Ben leaned down and deactivated it with a press of a button. "Blasted table," he grumbled as he stood back upright and turned around. As he did this, Ben gasped when he saw someone standing in the hallway with their back pointed to him. Where had they come from? He thought he was alone on this ship! How had they managed to sneak up on him.

"Excuse me, who are you?" he called out, his heart hammering in his chest.

Ben saw the person stiffen at his inquiry. A tense moment passed as Ben stared at the back of the motionless stranger's head. Finally they began to turn around slowly toward his voice. He inhaled sharply when she turned around fully, his eyes widening comedically as he took an instinctive half step back.

"Rey?" he asked, voice hoarse with incredulity.

She looked similar to how he remembered, although she was noticeably taller and her skin was much paler. Her brown eyes were initially cold, yet upon meeting his stunned gaze they widened with synonymous awe.

"Ben?" she said, her voice sounding deeper and more mature than the chipper tone he recalled from three years ago. "What… what are you doing here?" she asked.

"What are _you_ doing here?" he countered.

Rey furrowed her brow in bewilderment. "This is my ship," she said.

Ben faltered. In a sense, she was right, but he had never thought of it that way. For the past three years the freighter had been in Chewbacca's possession, but the confidence in Rey's voice made him question that. Shouldn't she have stood to inherit the Falcon? She was Han's daughter after all.

"But how did you even get here?" Ben asked her.

Rey didn't get a chance to respond as they both looked away when they heard someone approaching. "Senator Skywalker? Senator, where are you?" a muffled voice called out. Ben could barely make out what the person was saying as it sounded garbled and distant despite somehow knowing that the speaker was quite close to him.

"Who is that?" Rey asked suspiciously.

"Senator Skywalker? Are you alright?"

Ben blinked a few times as he found that he was no longer looking at Rey but at Dameron, a concerned expression on his face as he scrutinized him.

"I'm, um… I'm alright," he managed to say.

"You sure?" Dameron asked.

"Yeah," Ben said, more assuredly this time.

"Well I'm ready to take off whenever you are," Dameron told him. "Turns out there wasn't a leak, we just had a little malfunction with the gauge reading."

"Good," Ben said dazedly. "I'll be right there."

Dameron nodded before turning around and walking away toward the cockpit. Ben stood their motionlessly as he stared at the empty space where Rey had once been.

What just happened?

* * *

Leia was seated on a stool by Ania's bedside, her fingers absentmindedly stroking at her chin as she stared blankly at her daughter's sleeping form. Having spent several hours in the bacta tank, the doctors had kept Ania sedated after they removed her. They were now watching her vital signs and performing regular scans to see how her organs were reacting to the treatment. Leia waited by her daughter's bedside all throughout, although she couldn't deny that she was getting impatient. It wasn't professional of her to be spending so much time away from the bridge on personal matters, especially considering the dire nature of their current situation, but Leia felt obliged to stay nonetheless. She meant what she said: she wasn't going to leave Ania ever again.

As she sat there, Leia's mind inevitably drifted toward Ben and Luke. She was quite proud of her son for being able to stand up to her. That was something she knew he was not inclined toward doing, but he needed to if he wanted to become a better Jedi. She knew she could be hard to deal with at times, so it was a good thing that Ben was learning how to call her out when she was wrong or acting unfairly toward him.

And she was unfair with him far too often. She knew that she treated her children differently – smothering her daughter with affection and encouragement while failing to reciprocate hardly a fraction of that maternal love toward Ben. She had always just assumed that Ben didn't want her to treat him like how she treated Ania. After all, he was a twenty-seven year old man. Yet perhaps she had acted too astringently with her son. While he kept a level head most of the time, this whole ordeal with Ania had caused his cool exterior to give way a little bit. She had been stunned by his temerity in the hangar the afternoon prior when he had refused to allow her to browbeat into submission. The accusations he had made against her, while understandable in retrospect, had infuriated her – so much so that she had lost control and unleashed a wave of pent up dark side frustrations upon Ben and the surrounding contingent of soldiers.

It hadn't been a good look, that's for sure. Regardless, Leia was grateful for the experience. She and Ben had both learned a great deal from it. Ben had learned that he had to confront her every now and then in order to get what he wanted whereas she had learned how Ben really felt and that she had been mistreating him by treating him and Ania so differently. That didn't mean she was going to start hugging and kissing him and heaping him with encouragement and praise like she did with Ania. She knew Ben didn't need that. Ania did, not because she was weaker in spirit, but because she had spent the first eighteen years of her life without receiving hardly an ounce of these things. She had had Anakin, yes, but Leia knew from experience that that wasn't enough. Ben, on the other hand, required a less saccharine form of encouragement. Allowing him to take the Falcon and go look for Luke even though she was sure he would fail was the first step in realizing this shift in approach.

Or at least that had partially been why she had allowed him to go. If she was being honest with herself, she had agreed to let Ben go in part because she still had an inkling of a hope that he could actually succeed. Leia wasn't the type to get her hopes up on pipe dreams, but in this case she couldn't help but wish that Luke would come home. She missed her brother terribly. It had been three whole years since they had seen one another. Ever since she had met him when they were both eighteen, the two of them had stayed in close contact throughout their entire adult lives. Luke had always been there for her, especially after Han had left and her mother had been too busy with the chancellorship to spend time with her. Luke had always been her best and most loyal friend. Without him, Leia felt incomplete.

Yet at the same time, she also knew that the Luke she loved was likely gone forever. He was a crippled man now, nothing like the optimistic companion she had known and loved. Their mother's death had been the last straw for him. She could understand why Luke was so disenchanted with the Jedi and with the Force. From his point of view, the Force – or at least those who wield it: the Jedi and the Sith – were responsible for destroying his family and ruining his life. He had said as much back on Yavin three years ago. Leia hadn't been able to contradict him then and she certainly wasn't able to do it now because ultimately, she agreed with him. She would sacrifice her powers in a heartbeat if it meant her family could be restored: to have Han back as her husband, to have her mother and father together and in love with each other once more, and most of all to have Luke back by her side. But that wasn't an option. For her, the Force or Jedism weren't things she could abandon. All her life, she had been imbued in these ancient arts. She didn't know of a life without the Force like Luke did. Sacrificing her powers would be tantamount to throwing away her life as she knew it.

Leia's rambling ruminations were cut short when she heard a knock on the door. Looking up, Leia narrowed her eyes irritably. With a lackadaisical wave of her hand, Leia opened the door with the Force to reveal the Stormtrooper Finn. The young man was visibly startled as he blinked rapidly in her general direction.

"How did you –"

"Come in, Finn," Leia interrupted, beckoning her daughter's bewildered savior forward.

Clearly adept at taking orders, Finn complied with the demand at once in spite of his incredulity. As he did so, Leia returned her attention to Ania as she closed the door behind Finn with another wave of her hand. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Finn spin around in shock, and Leia was only barely able to suppress a smirk.

"What brings you here?" she asked him.

Finn took a few moments to reply as he turned back around and gave her a look of awe. "I, um… I didn't have anywhere else to go," he said. "I'm sorry, did you just close that door with… with your mind?"

Leia elected to disregard this question. "You don't need to feel uneasy on my ship, Finn," she told him. Sensing that the man was going to say something, Leia spoke before he was able. "You are a hero. For saving my daughter, I am forever indebted to you."

"She saved me just as much as I saved her," Finn told her.

"How so?" Leia asked, eyes still fixated on Ania's sleeping face.

"I'd still be a Stormtrooper if it weren't for her," Finn said.

"And what are you now?" Leia asked.

Finn faltered at this question. Intrigued by his silence, Leia finally looked away from Ania to see that Finn was staring at her daughter with a distant look in his eyes. "I… I don't know," he said haltingly. "I don't know who I am. I didn't even have a name until now."

"Oh no?"

"Stormtroopers don't get names," Finn explained. "Ania decided to call me Finn because of the first two letters of my designation."

Leia smiled wanly at this, simultaneously proud of her daughter yet saddened by this young man's tragic past. No doubt the pair of them could bond further over the mutual hardships of their youths.

"Do you want a purpose?" Leia asked him.

"I need a purpose," Finn said without hesitation. "I don't know what to do with myself anymore."

Leia nodded, understanding this predicament all too well. After she had defeated Sidious and her father had become one with the Force, Leia had faced an identical crisis as Finn was facing now. The way she had resolved it was by finding something worth fighting for. She had devoted her powers toward defeating the remnants of the Empire and ensuring that her mother was elected to the chancellorship after the war. She hadn't believed in the republican cause at first, but over time she had come to appreciate the spirit of the Rebellion and had managed to carve out an identity for herself within its ranks.

"Mom?"

Swiveling her head, Leia saw that Ania had woken up – eyes opening a fraction and she struggled to get into a seated position.

"Easy there," Leia cooed as she placed a hand on Ania's shoulder. "No need to rush things. How do you feel?"

Ania ceased trying to sit up as she closed her eyes momentarily. "Sore," she confessed with a groan. "Is it supposed to hurt like this?"

"I'd imagine so," Leia said, although she didn't know for sure. "You'll feel a lot better in a few hours."

Reassured, Ania nodded and sighed. Opening her eyes once more, she glanced over toward Finn who was standing at the foot of her bed. "Finn," she said, smiling weakly at him. Her eyes darted around the room for a moment before landing back on her mother. "Where's Ben?" she asked her.

Leia's expression turned somber. "He left," she told Ania bluntly.

"Left?" Ania repeated.

"He's gone off to find your uncle."

Ania blinked a few times as she processed this information. "You let him go alone?" she asked eventually, perplexed by her uncharacteristic lenience.

"I did," Leia said simply.

Ania pursed her lips and turned her head away from Leia for a moment. "Will he be safe?" she asked, her voice muted as she spoke into the pillow.

Unsure how to answer this, Leia frowned as she looked away toward the heartrate monitor. "Ben is very capable," she decided on say after a few moments of consideration. "Perhaps more so than either of us realized."

Leia could tell that Ania was hardly satisfied by this assurance as she turned her head back and gave her mother a dubious look. Propping herself upright, she rested her back against the pillow and placed her hands in her lap. "Do you trust him more than me?" she asked suddenly.

Flummoxed by this question, Leia tilted her head and furrowed her brow. "What makes you say that?" she asked.

"You wouldn't have let me go alone if I asked you," she said.

"Because look what happened!" Leia exclaimed. "You nearly got killed!"

"So Ben's more competent than me?" Ania asked.

"No," Leia said. "But he's far less rash."

"Rash?"

"Ben is six years older than you, Ania," Leia said as calmly as she could. "He has a level head. You don't."

"So what? I'm a better Jedi than him!" Ania insisted.

"Is that so?" Leia asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"I'm ten times the fighter Ben is!" Ania claimed.

"Being a Jedi is more than just fighting, Ania," Leia scolded. "I would have thought after three years of training you would have appreciated this."

Ania huffed and looked away, her cheeks reddening with frustration. Hesitating, Leia glanced at Finn who was watching this interaction with apprehension from the foot of Ania's bed. "Ania you're acting very childish right now," Leia reprimanded as she returned her attention to her indignant daughter. "Ben has proven himself ready for such a mission. You have not. This is not a matter of trust, it's a matter of practicality."

"But I found the map, not him," Ania pointed out petulantly. "I should be the one to go."

"Is that what this is about?" Leia asked.

"This was my mission! Lor reached out to me, not Ben! I'm the one who should find Luke!"

"Check your tone, Ania," Leia growled. Intimidated, Ania's belligerence wavered as she gulped audibly. "You are not entitled to anything," Leia told her. "The universe is not governed by what is fair. You and I both know that far too well." Ania stared back at her silently for a moment before nodding. Relieved, Leia allowed her tone to lighten a fraction. "A true Jedi does not seek glory or adventure," she lectured, reaching out and placing a hand on Ania's knee. "You must exercise patience. Your time will come."

Ania bowed her head and exhaled shakily. "Yes, Mother," she said. Leia winced at the artificial formality. Both of her children would call her that when they were displeased with what she had to say. Neither were bold enough to contradict her directly, but she could always tell when they were upset with her based on what they called her. At least she hadn't called her Master. Only when they were livid with her would they sarcastically refer to her as that. While technically she was their Jedi Master, she had expressly forbidden them from calling her that.

Irked that she hadn't been able to convince Ania of her sincerity, Leia stood up out of her stool. "Perhaps you don't appreciate my teaching?" she asked as she loomed over her daughter.

"Of course I do!" Ania insisted as she looked up sharply.

"They you must also appreciate my judgement," Leia rumbled. "Don't you forget that it was I who defeated Darth Sidious, not you. I alone know what it takes to win this war. My instruction is to be treated as law, is that clear?"

"Yes, Mother," Ania said once again.

Clenching her jaw, Leia craned her head toward the ceiling in exasperation. Was it not possible for both of her children to be on amicable terms with her at the same time? The moment she had resolved things with Ben, Ania had decided it time to give her attitude. Perhaps they were coordinating with one another – consciously or otherwise – to see if they could drive her insane.

"I'm going to go see if I can get you discharged," Leia said, forcing herself to remain calm. "I'll be right back." Nodding briskly to Finn, Leia spun around and marched out of the room – chin held high as she determined to leave her frustrations behind her.


	28. Protection

Chapter 28 – Protection

After having jumped into hyperspace, Ben quickly left the cockpit so that he could brood in the main hold by himself. Seated at the bench, Ben put his feet up on the checkered table and rested his chin against his fist as he stared blankly at the spot where Rey had miraculously appeared a few hours ago.

He had never experienced something like that nor had his mother ever told him about something like that being possible. Therefore as Ben was contemplating what happened, he couldn't help but doubt himself. Had he really seen Rey or had it just been his imagination? Surely he couldn't have imagined something so vivid, but how else could he explain it? She had been standing three feet away from him! He could _feel_ her presence. She had been here, there was no doubt about it.

But how? And where had she gone?

Closing his eyes, Ben reached out into the Force and attempted to discern Rey's Force presence. He concentrated for a solid minute before conceding defeat. She wasn't anywhere near him. There was no way he could find her. So how had she managed to find him? Or had she? She had seemed just as surprised as he had been. Perhaps she was asking the same questions to herself about him.

Unable to come up with any possible explanations, Ben sighed heavily as he swung his legs off the table. He paced around the main hold for around half an hour, absentmindedly twirling his lightsaber hilt in his hand as he thought. Poe came to give him an update on their progress and after he left, Ben decided to call it quits. Clipping his lightsaber to his belt, he trudged down the halls toward the guest room where he took off his heavy robes and collapsed into the bed.

Sleep came quickly despite everything on his mind. Perhaps he was still exhausted from his experience on Jakku. Regardless for the reason, Ben was grateful for the brief reprieve. He woke up abruptly a few hours later when the whole cabin began to shake. Blinking a few times, Ben rubbed his eyes as he sat upright. He nearly fell off the bed when the ship careened to the left unexpectedly.

"Dameron!" Ben called out, completely awake by now. "What the hell?"

Getting to his feet, Ben wobbled around the tiny room for a minute as he struggled to throw on his undershirt. Summoning his lightsaber to his hand from across the room, he marched out of the bedroom and toward the cockpit.

"Dameron!" he yelled again when he the ship jolted once again and he went tumbling into the wall. Calling on the Force to help balance himself, he managed to stumble into the cockpit where he found the pilot looking remarkably calm as he leaned back in his chair and was seemingly doing nothing to address the problem. "What are you doing?" Ben asked.

Startled, Dameron spun around to see him standing in the entrance to the cockpit. "Oh, hey," he said. "I didn't know you'd woken up."

"How could I not?" Ben asked as another tremor rippled through the ship. "What's happening?"

"What, this?" Dameron asked. "It's just a bit of turbulence, that's all. It occasionally happens in hyperspace, especially in lanes that aren't often traversed like this one."

"I've never heard about turbulence in hyperspace before," Ben said skeptically.

"That's because you've only ever flown in fancy ships with computer stabilizers installed," Dameron informed him. "Corellians like this one are far less… endowed."

"I see," Ben said, frowning as he looked out the front window toward the choppy hyperspace in front of them. Despite Dameron's blasé manner, Ben couldn't help but feel apprehensive.

"Take a seat, why don't you?" Dameron suggested, gesturing to the copilot's seat. Ben hesitated for a moment before stepping forward into the cockpit and sitting down opposite the pilot. "Oh, and you can call me Poe by the way," he told him as Ben strapped himself in.

"Poe?" Ben repeated.

"Yeah, just Poe," he said. He looked away and smirked. "You know, I asked your sister to call me by my first name but she wouldn't do it."

"Why not?" Ben asked.

Poe shrugged and shook his head. "No idea," he confessed. "She insisted on calling me flyboy, for some reason. Kind of rude, if I'm shooting you straight."

"Yeah, she can be a bit abrasive," Ben agreed as he too looked away back out the window. Thinking back to the first time he met her, Ben recalled being similarly perplexed by her insistence on calling him Solo rather than Skywalker despite his numerous requests. In retrospect it made sense – she had been jealous of him and had decided to vilify him by calling him by his father's name – but at the time he hadn't been able to make sense of her rudeness.

"Hey, can I ask you something?" Poe suddenly inquired.

Ben turned languidly toward the pilot with his eyebrows raised. "Go ahead," he said.

Poe opened his mouth yet faltered. Perplexed, Ben watched as the pilot closed his mouth and looked away. "You know what, never mind," he mumbled finally.

"Never mind?" Ben repeated. "Come on, what did you want to ask me?"

Poe bit his tongue, clearly regretting having spoken in the first place. "It's about your sister," he finally said reluctantly.

Ben stiffened at the pilot's tone. "What about her?" he asked.

Poe scratched his nose and leaned back in his chair. "It's nothing, I just…" he trailed off momentarily, his eyes distant as he stared blankly out the window. "She has some baggage, doesn't she?" he finally said.

"What does that mean?" Ben asked, tilting his head as he stared unblinkingly at Poe.

"I've seen people act like she does before," Poe told him, momentarily meeting his gaze before looking away again. "Very belligerent. Unable to ever concede that they're wrong."

"So what?"

"Just forget it, alright?" Poe said, raising his hands in surrender. "I shouldn't have brought it up."

"No, you shouldn't have," Ben agreed curtly.

An awkward silence followed as the pair collectively decided to stare out the window rather than at each other. Ben's eyes began to glaze over as the bright blue hyperspace streaks began to blur. Suddenly he realized that he had dug his fingernails into the leather of his armrest. Looking down, Ben exhaled out his mouth as he slowly retracted his talons. Taking another soothing breath, Ben flexed his fingers before unstrapping himself and standing up.

"I'll be in the main hold," he informed Poe, his tone astringent and uninviting. "Let me know when we're close."

Poe nodded without looking up at him. Considering the tense pilot for a moment longer, Ben spun around and marched out of the cockpit.

* * *

_Stay away from me!_

_What's wrong with your leg, girl? _

_It's broken. _

_May I see?_

_Don't come any closer!_

_There's no need to resist. _

_Don't touch me!_

_Come home. _

_I… I can't. I can't go with you. _

_Why not?_

_I'm sorry. D-Dad, I'm so, so sorry." _

_For what? _

_Forgive me. _

Ania woke up and instantly felt sick to her stomach. Eyes widening, she leapt out of bed and rushed toward the direction where she knew the bathroom to be. She only barely made it.

For several minutes, she heaved into the sink. She hadn't eaten anything in what felt like days, so there wasn't much for her to vomit. She suspected she was merely spewing up all the fluids the IV had pumped her up with, alongside a dusting of bile to give it that aromatic flavor.

When the vomiting came to a merciful end, Ania spat out whatever moisture remained in her mouth as she turned the faucet on. Her shoulders ached and trembled as she sagged over the sink and watched the watery-contents of her stomach spiral down the drain. She left the faucet on for a long while even after the sink was cleaned, closing her eyes as she listened to the sound of the pressurized stream.

Finally, she pushed herself back into a standing position. Feeling somewhat lightheaded, Ania made herself wash her hands before turning off the faucet and spinning around. Knees wobbling somewhat, she made her way out of the bathroom and back into the bedroom.

She was in her mother's quarters on the _Skywalker. _It took Ania a moment to reorient herself, but she did eventually remember how she had gotten there. Her mother had gotten her discharged from the medical ward and had insisted that she get some rest upstairs. She had gotten the distinct impression that her mother was upset with her, so Ania had complied with the request despite insisting that she wouldn't be able to sleep. Evidently she had been wrong on that account.

Voices beyond the door caused Ania to look up sharply. Making her way toward the exit, Ania swiped the blanket off her mother's bed and wrapped it around her shoulders like a cape before pressing her ear against the door. While she couldn't make out what was being said, Ania was sure that one of the voices was her mother's. Relieved, Ania pulled away from the door and returned to the bed.

Plopping down on the plush mattress, Ania suddenly found herself feeling immensely small in the large bed. Despite the soft blanket she had wrapped around herself, Ania's bare feet were icy cold and her skin felt horribly clammy. Her hair was also tangled and messy having not had a shower in several days. Beginning to shiver, Ania pulled her knees into her chest and draped the blanket over them as she rested her back against the backboard of the bed. As she did this, Ania noticed that the voices had receded and she sensed someone approaching…

Despite her foresight, Ania was nevertheless still startled when the door to the bedroom opened abruptly. Her shock faded in an instant, however, when she saw her mother walk in and close the door behind her.

"Mom," Ania whispered as Leia came over toward the bed. "It happened again."

Her mother's brow furrowed for a moment before she assumed a more solicitous expression. Sitting down on the bed, she extended her hand and placed it on Ania's knee. "Tell me," she instructed.

Ania swallowed hard, making a face when she tasted the residual bile in her mouth. "It was Snoke this time," she said so softly that she could barely hear her own voice. "He was kidnapping me." Leia nodded, beckoning her to continue. "And then it was him," she said, shuddering. "It's always him." Ania stared blankly at nothing in particular with her mother's touch the only thing keeping her grounded. "I threw up in the sink," she confessed, shaking her head as she forced herself out of her daze and looked her mother in the eyes. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Leia said, giving her knee a rub before retracting her hand.

"Why won't they stop, Mom?" Ania asked, her voice laced with desperation. "Why won't they go away like they did with you?"

Leia sighed heavily as looked away and bowed her head. "I had closure, Ania," Leia told her for the umpteenth time. "Or at least I thought I did."

"Your father forgave you. Mine can't," Ania said, her arms beginning to tremble as she strengthened her grip around her knees. "I can't get closure."

"Ania, we've been through this before," Leia said sternly. "My father forgave me, but I could only accept it after I learned to forgive myself. You have to do the same."

"But –"

"We've had this conversation a thousand times, Ania," Leia interrupted her. "It makes me think you aren't listening to me at all."

Ania blinked a few times, caught off guard by her mother's atypically harsh tone. "Are you mad at me?" she asked after a tense silence.

"Mad at you? No," Leia said as she stood up off the bed and walked over toward the bathroom. "But I am disappointed."

"Disappointed?" Ania repeated, eyes widening as she watched her mother inspect the sink.

"You defy my instruction," Leia said as she turned the faucet on and reached for a sponge. At once, Ania opened her mouth to refute this claim but Leia continued on without giving her the chance. "You do not seem to be able to appreciate the magnitude of our current situation," she said, speaking loudly over the sound of running water. "Nor do you appreciate the tremendous responsibility I have on my shoulders. I cannot solve your problems, Ania. Nor can I devote the majority of my time toward protecting you when I have a war to conduct."

"You don't need to protect me," Ania insisted, indignant.

"Don't I?" Leia asked, turning off the faucet and leaving the bathroom. She came to a stop by the foot of the bed and placed her hands on her hips. "I have to protect you from yourself, Ania! You nearly got yourself killed going to Jakku without my permission."

"But I had to, Mom! I had to find the map!"

"I don't care about the map, I care about you!" Leia roared, causing Ania to shrink away against the backboard. "Think outside of yourself for once. Think about me!"

"But I did it for you! To find Luke!" Ania insisted.

"No you didn't, you did it for yourself!" Leia countered, pointing an accusative finger at her. "You did it to prove yourself worthy to me. The map had nothing to do with it!"

Ania was too flustered to offer a retort. Instead, she tore the blanket off from her shoulders and threw it toward her mother with a scream. Caught off guard, Leia stumbled away back toward the bathroom.

"I hate you!" Ania shrieked, getting up onto her knees and gesticulating her hands wildly by her sides. Stunned, Leia merely stared back at her silently for a few moments. Ania's lower lip trembled as she met her mother's incredulous gaze. "I… I hate you," she said again, but without any of the vehemence. On the contrary, her voice was hoarse and permeated with self-loathing.

"No you don't," Leia said finally.

At once, Ania found herself shaking her head. "I d-don't," she agreed shakily. "I…I…"

Pursing her lips, Leia kicked away the blanket and walked back toward the bed as Ania began to dissolve. Unable to stop the tears, Ania bowed her head in shame as her mother reached out and placed her hand on her cheek. Ania grabbed onto the hand with both of her own as she cried, her whole body quaking as she held on to her mother for dear life.

"I'm so sorry," she managed to say through sobs. "I'm so, so sorry."

"So am I," she heard her mother say. For several minutes they stayed that way as Ania struggled to recompose herself. Her hatred for herself continued to augment. First she had killed her father, then she had hurt her brother, and now she had antagonized the person whom she admired and idolized above all else. How could she ever forgive herself if all she did was hurt the ones she loved?

"Come on," her mother said finally, her voice gentle and full of compassion. "I want to show you something."

Sniffling, Ania nodded and released her mother's hand. Wiping her eyes with the sleeve of the hospital gown she was still wearing, Ania got down from her knees and slid off the bed. At once, Leia wrapped her arms around her and gave her a quick hug. Ania pressed her face into her mother's collarbone as Leia planted a kiss on the side of her head before pulling away. Taking her hand, Leia guided her away from the bed and out of the room.

Arriving in the reception area, Leia released her hand and walked over toward her desk which was oriented in front of a broad, circular window. Feeling supremely chilly in the cold room, Ania rubbed her arms together as she watched her mother lean down to open a drawer. Reaching inside, she produced a small metal crate and stood back upright. Closing the drawer, she turned around and walked back toward Ania.

"Do you know what this is?" she asked, reverently holding the crate with two hands.

"That's Ben's safe," Ania said, frowning. Her brother had been quite proud of the safe he had engineered. Time and time again, he bragged to her that the only person who could access its contents was himself. He called it his greatest invention outside of A5. "But I thought that was on Chandrila?"

"I had him make me a replica," Leia said, smiling thinly. "It's a beautiful design, is it not?"

Ania had to agree. A vine pattern was engraved on the durasteel surface of the safe, the soldering performed with the utmost care and attention to detail. Her brother truly was a master of his craft.

"But how do you open it?" Ania asked. "You need A5, don't you?"

"Oh, I didn't require that level of security," Leia said. "Nobody would dare steal anything from me, anyway." Ania nodded, her eyes scanning appreciatively over the surface of the safe before resting in the padlock in the center. "Go ahead," her mother said. "Open it."

Ania looked up to meet Leia's eyes. "Why?" she asked.

"You'll see," Leia said, extending the safe toward her. Ania hesitated for a fraction of a second before meeting her midway and taking the metal safe into her own hands. Pulling it toward her, Ania unfastened the padlock and cautiously removed the top. Peering down into the contents of the safe, Ania saw the hilts of two lightsabers.

"What are these?" she asked.

Leia didn't answer her as she took the safe back. Reaching into it, she produced one of the hilts and handed it to Ania. "Take it," she said when Ania shook her head.

"I can't take that," she objected. "I haven't earned it."

"I don't want you to keep it," Leia said. "Just to hold it."

"Oh," Ania said. Hesitantly, she reached out and wrapped her hand around the sleek, segmented hilt. Raising it to her chest, she turned the hilt over and inspected it with the utmost fascination. "Whose was this?" she asked.

"This was the blade of Obi-Wan Kenobi," Leia told her. Startled, Ania looked up to see that her mother was smiling wanly. "The very same," she confirmed as if there was any doubt.

"You took this from him?" Ania asked. "When…"

"When I killed him?" Leia provided. Ania nodded. "Yes, I did," her mother said with a sigh. "I killed him in the same way you killed your father: by stabbing him in the heart." Ania's grip on the weapon tightened as she shut her eyes. "I felt the same guilt you feel now, young one," Leia told her. "Every night, I would take this weapon and place it against my own heart."

"You didn't!" Ania gasped, her eyes flying open at this confession.

"Is what you do any better? Pleading for forgiveness despite knowing that there is nobody there to give it?" Ania inhaled sharply. How did she know about that? She had never told her mother about that. Sensing her shock, Leia smiled once more as she reached out and took Obi-Wan's lightsaber out of her hands. "You're not as subtle as you think you are, Ania," she said as she returned the lightsaber into the safe.

"But why didn't you ever say anything?" Ania asked.

"Because I knew you needed to grieve in your own way," Leia told her. "I had no right to interfere. I've told you this before, Ania. I cannot be the one to absolve you of your guilt: you alone have the power and responsibility to do that."

Ania nodded as she bowed her head. She could feel her mother's eyes on her for a long while before she heard her reach into the safe once more and produce the second blade. Looking back up, Ania accepted the weapon without waiting for her mother to tell her to take it. At once, Ania felt as if she had seen this blade before.

"Wait a minute, this isn't yours, is it?" she asked, turning the blade over. The design was remarkably similar to the blades her mother and Ben both wielded, albeit significantly larger. In fact, it was far larger than any hilt she had ever seen before.

"Technically, it is," Leia said. "Although it is also Luke's, I suppose. But for now, I want it to be yours."

"But –" Ania began to protest, but Leia cut her off.

"This blade belonged to Anakin Skywalker," she told her, prompting Ania to shut up abruptly. This was her grandfather's blade? "He committed heinous acts with this blade, but also accomplished many great things. Because of that, I think it is only fitting that you wield it from here on out."

"I can't," Ania insisted at once.

"Do you consider yourself unworthy?" Leia asked, eyebrow raised.

"I… I don't know," Ania admitted. "I failed you. I didn't vindicate Sidious' blade like you wanted me to."

"No you did not," Leia agreed. "But I am giving you a second chance. I suggest you make the most of this opportunity."

Ania gulped and nodded. "I will," she said determinedly. "I won't let you down again, Mother."

"Oh, I know you won't," Leia said. "Do you know why?" Perplexed, Ania tilted her head as she lowered her newly anointed lightsaber. "I am going to share with you a modicum of my responsibilities," she said.

"What does that mean?" Ania asked, befuddled by this vague explanation.

"I am giving you your own Padawan," Leia elaborated.

* * *

"Stay with the ship," Ben instructed. "Both of you," he added when BB-8 began rolling after him. "I need to do this alone."

"What exactly is 'this'?" Poe asked, having never been informed about the nature of this mission.

"I'll tell you later," Ben mumbled. "If I succeed, that is."

"If you succeed?" Poe repeated, audibly concerned by this corollary.

Disregarding the pilot's qualms, Ben marched down the ramp and into the bright open air. Squinting, Ben looked up at the vibrantly blue sky. There were a few puffy clouds above, yet not enough to counteract the luminous suns which dominated the horizon. Wind buffeted his robes and rippled his hair as he leaned forward while walking down the ramp. Upon stepping down on the mossy ground, Ben held a head to his forehead and craned his neck up where he saw a granite pathway snaking its way up a steep hill. Turning around, Ben saw Poe and BB-8 watching him from the top of the ramp.

"I'll be in contact," Ben told him over the sound of the wind. "Stay with the ship until then." Without waiting for a response, Ben turned and made his way toward the trail.

He hadn't detected his uncle's Force presence like he had hoped he would when they touched down on the mysterious ocean planet. Ben refused to let this dampen his spirits, however. Despite the conspicuous lack of a signature, Ben felt oddly confident that Luke was here. Call it intuition.

The suns slowly climbed up with him as he plodded along the trail and the gentle morning light provided just enough warmth to keep him comfortable in the wind. Every now and then he would pause, a leg elevated on a rock as he took in his surroundings. This planet was truly gorgeous. The verdant island contrasted starkly with the dark blue ocean which stretched on in every direction around him. It was lonely, yet also distinctly peaceful. Ben could practically feel the stress which he had brought along with him ebb away in this oasis of tranquility. No wonder Luke had sought out this place.

Reaching the top of the trail, Ben found himself meandering through a stone village. It was empty, although Ben could make out the echoes o]\f former Force presences still lingering around the corners. Had the place been evacuated? Or was it still inhabited, yet no one was here to greet him at this particular moment? It was hard not to fear the former. This place, while peaceful, was not without an eerie quality which Ben found unnerving.

He made his way down the cobbled roads without going anywhere in particular. He spent what felt like hours inspecting the huts and appreciating the scenery. When he reached the opposite outskirt of the village, Ben sighed in resignation and sat down wearily on a broad, flat stone. What was he doing? It was clear that Luke wasn't here.

"_I wouldn't be so sure of that._"

Ben looked up sharply at the voice which he hadn't heard in three years.

"Anakin," Ben said, refusing to call the young man which stood before him his grandfather. It just felt weird to address a man who was physically four years his junior by that venerable title.

"_It's been a while, Ben,_" Anakin said with a wry smile.

"And why might that be?" Ben asked, his frustration at having failed to find Luke manifesting in bitterness toward Anakin. "You seem to talk to Ania a lot."

"_Are you jealous?_" Anakin asked.

"No," Ben insisted at once.

"_You do that far too often, Ben."_

"What?"

"_Lie to yourself._"

Ben straightened his back and inclined his chin toward his incorporeal grandfather. "I don't know what you're talking about," he said.

"_Leia and I are always here for you, you know,_" Anakin told him. "_You just never ask for us._"

"Is that so?" Ben asked. "You would just show up if I asked you to?"

"_Of course," _Anakin confirmed. "_It's not like I have anything else going on, you know._"

Ben blinked a few times as he processed this. "No, I suppose you don't," he agreed.

"_So back to the matter at hand,_" Anakin said with a flourish of his blue-tinged hand. "_You feel as if you failed?_"

"Haven't I?" Ben asked. "Luke's not here."

"_No, he's not,_" Anakin said. Ben sagged his head, depressed by the confirmation despite knowing it to be true regardless. "_But someone else is._"

Ben looked up slowly. "What do you mean?" he asked astringently, not in the mood for riddles.

Anakin didn't answer him. Instead, he stepped aside and disappeared, the wispy material of which his ghostly form was composed dissipating into the wind. Perplexed, Ben stood up and looked around. Suddenly, he saw what Anakin had wanted him to see.

Standing about a hundred yards away atop a cliff was a cloaked individual. They was peering out at the horizon without giving any indication that he knew Ben was there. Intrigued, Ben began to approach but not without considerable caution. Hand resting over his lightsaber, he made his way away from the village and up the hill.

"Hello?" he finally called out once he was close enough. "Who are you?"

A long silence passed and Ben contemplated repeating himself, fearing that the person hadn't heard him. Just as he opened his mouth, however, they finally spoke.

"I don't know who I am," they confessed.

Ben inhaled sharply as his hand fell away from his lightsaber. "Rey," he said.

The little girl whom he had failed three years prior turned around to face him. Lowering her hood, she contemplated him for a moment before taking a step toward him.

"How is this happening?" she asked.

"How is what happening?" he asked.

"You can't be here," she said.

"Neither can you," he said.

The self-described siblings stared at each other for a long while without saying anything. Ben frowned as he considered the gauntness of Rey's formerly full face. The brightness of her eyes had dimmed as well and no longer did he see the chipper little girl who had been Han Solo's daughter.

"I've missed you, Rey," Ben said finally.

"I've missed you too, Ben," she said as well.

"I want to help you," he said.

Rey hesitated at this. "I… I don't need help," she said, wringing her wrists.

"Yes you do," Ben said fiercely. "Sidious stole you from me."

"He didn't steal me," Rey insisted.

"I can protect you, Rey," Ben said, extending his hand to her. "I have to protect you. I gave our father my word."

"No, Ben," Rey said, shaking her head without so much as looking at his outstretched hand. "I'm the one who will protect you."

Dejected, Ben nevertheless kept his hand extended toward her. "Please, Rey," he pleaded, thrusting it forward closer to her. "Take my hand."

This time, Rey did glance down. She stared at the offering for a long while, her eyes oscillating back and forth as she pondered. For the a fraction of a second, Ben thought she was going to fold when he saw her right hand twitch. The moment was shattered, however, when Ben was startled by the sound of footsteps behind him. Spinning around, Ben reached for his lightsaber and activated the white blade.

"I don't say."

Ben froze, his lightsaber still held above his shoulder as he looked down at the weathered man standing a few feet below him on the hill. His once-sandy blonde hair had greyed considerably and he was now sporting a proud white and silver beard which Ben could only describe as a tangled mess.

"Uncle Luke," he said.

"Ben," the erstwhile Grand Master greeted his nephew. "Welcome to Ahch-To."


	29. Not My Fight

Chapter 29 – Not My Fight

Uncle and nephew stared at each other for a long while before Luke finally spoke.

"Who were you talking to?" he asked, eyes darting behind Ben to see if anyone was there.

"No one," Ben said automatically.

Luke narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Put that away, won't you?" he asked, gesturing to Ben's still-active lightsaber. Having forgotten about the weapon in his hands, Ben complied at once, deactivating the blade and lowering it. "Well come on," Luke said, turning around and walking away down the hill.

"Wait!" Ben exclaimed, hurrying after Luke so that he could walk by his side. "Don't you want to know how I found you?" he asked.

"Not particularly," Luke said.

Ben frowned at his uncle who refused to meet his judgmental gaze. "What are you doing here, Luke?" he asked. "Have you been here for the past three years?" Luke nodded. "What do you even do?"

"What are you doing, Ben?" Luke asked him without answering.

"What do you mean?"

"Training to be a Jedi, are you?"

"Wow, how insightful of you."

"How is that treating you?" Luke asked, disregarding his sarcasm.

"Very well, thank you very much," Ben said, elevating his chin. The pair had reached the outskirts of the village and were ambling up the cobbled trail at a slight incline.

"Well that's nice. I'm happy for you."

"No you're not," Ben said, irritated by Luke's facetiousness. "You think I'm a fool."

"I don't think that," Luke insisted at once, his head bowed as the slope steepened.

"Then why did you abandon Jedism?" Ben asked.

"I don't want to talk about it," Luke mumbled.

"So that's it? You just get to hide away on this island without having to face your responsibilities?"

"Responsibilities? What responsibilities."

"To the galaxy. To your sister."

Luke snorted and shook his head. Ben came to a stop as Luke continued to plod along up the trail. Looking up, Ben could see that Luke was walking toward a stone hut situated at the top of another hill which overlooked the village nestled in a valley.

"My mother needs you!" Ben called out to his cantankerous uncle. Once again, Luke didn't offer a retort. Huffing in exasperation, Ben resumed trekking up the hill after Luke. As they walked, the wind began to pick up and a vaporous fog began to roll in, blotting out the pleasant morning light as he ascended up into the cloud layer.

"A storm's coming," he heard his uncle comment to himself as they finally reached the stone hut at the top of the craggy hill. Glancing behind him, he saw that Ben had caught up. Luke gave him a sour look before opening the door. "Come in," he said gruffly. "You don't want to get caught in the rain."

Ben had to stoop down in order to pass through the shallow doorframe as he followed Luke into the hut. Once inside, Ben closed the door behind him and looked around. The décor was remarkably sparse – a single well-kept bed and a rickety table and chair were the sole furnishings in the circular room. There was a small slit in the stone wall by the table which provided a tiny bit of natural light. Seeking to ameliorate the darkness, Luke shuffled over toward the table and picked up a match box.

"How is your sister?" Luke asked him casually as he lit a match. Bending down, his hand trembled a bit as he transferred the fledgling flame to a pair of wax candles rested on either end of a humble wooden shelf inlaid into the wall just below the narrow window.

"Why don't you come with me and find out for yourself?" Ben suggested.

Luke looked up at him as he shook out the match. "You're quite the negotiator, aren't you?" he said.

"Your mother taught me well," Ben retorted.

At this, Luke's whole body stiffened as he stood back upright. Jaw clenched, he looked away sharply as he dropped the spent match down onto the table.

"You really can't move on, can you?" Ben asked.

"What is there to move on to?" Luke shot back.

Ben blinked a few times, stunned by this mindset. "There's so much you could do, Luke!" he exclaimed. "The galaxy needs you!" Luke growled and shook his head as he pulled out his chair and took his time sitting down, his joints groaning audibly as he did so. "Do you know what happened? What the First Order did?" he asked.

"No," Luke said laconically.

"They destroyed the capital!" Ben said, waving his arms for emphasis. "They have some sort of superweapon which can annihilate whole planets!"

Luke scrunched up his forehead in mock consternation. "I wonder where I've heard about that before," he mused. "Sounds very familiar to me."

"That's it? No surprise? No horror? Just snide comments?"

"What is there to be surprised about? It was only a matter of time before the technology got replicated. That type of power will never lay dormant now that it exists."

"So that's why we have to fight it!"

"Why?"

"What do you mean why?" Ben asked, aghast.

"What good will it do? Say you blow up another Death Star, where will that get you? Right back to where you started. And in thirty years, some other group of miscreants will come up with resources to build another one."

"So what do you propose instead?" Ben asked, placing his hands on his hips like his mother so often did when she was reprimanding him.

"I don't propose anything anymore," Luke said wearily as he turned away from him to watch the flames dance cheerily in the breeze coming through the window.

"So you're just going to stay here and die?"

"I am going to stay here and live," Luke countered. "My life is simple here, Ben. I enjoy it."

"Do you really?" Ben asked skeptically. "Do you honestly like living out here all by yourself?"

Luke didn't answer him.

* * *

Ben nodded appreciatively when Poe returned to the main hold with a towel in hand. Teeth chattering, Ben accepted the offering with both hands and began furiously drying his sopping wet hair. His uncle had warned him that it was too dangerous to walk down to the beaches during a torrential storm such as this one, but Ben had been too stubborn to listen to him. It seemed Luke hadn't been kidding. On more occasions than he could recall, Ben found himself losing his balance when he either slipped on the wet granite steps or had his robes picked up by the howling wind. He had needed to call upon the Force to keep himself balanced during the harrowing trip back to the Falcon.

Having returned by the skin of his teeth, Ben wasted no time finding his holoprojector so that he could contact his mother. Wrapping the towel around his shoulders, Ben halfheartedly attempted to tame his unruly hair before scooping the holoprojector off the checkered table and entering the code. Correctly deducing that Ben would rather be alone for this, Poe hastily departed with the ever-buoyant BB-8 in tow. Placing the holoprojector back down on the checkered table, Ben waited several minutes to establish a connection. Finally, the device burst to life and a bright blue hologram was emitted.

"_Ben!_"

"Ania?"

"_Oh Ben, I'm so glad to see you!_" his sister exclaimed, clasping her hands together.

"Wait a minute, where's Mom?" he asked.

"_On the bridge I think. I'm in her room right now, so that's why I answered_."

"Oh."

"_Ben, I have so much to tell you_," she said.

"So do I."

"_Well do you mind if I go first?_" she asked. "_I really need to talk with you right now_."

"Erm… okay," Ben said, hesitating only briefly. He had called in order to give his mother an update on his mission, but he supposed it couldn't hurt to talk to Ania for a bit in the meanwhile. She seemed especially flustered, more so even than him.

"_I'm freaking out, Ben!_" she confessed the moment he gave her the green light. "_I don't know what I'm going to do."_

"Woah, woah! Slow down," Ben said, holding a hand up. "What happened?"

"_Mom said she's going to give me a Padawan!_"

Ben blinked a few times in astonishment. "A… what?" he asked dumbly.

"_I'm not ready for that! I've only been training for three years!_"

Ben nodded in agreement. Not that he had ever really thought about it, but if anyone was going to take on a Padawan learner, he would have expected it would have been him, not Ania. He was six years her senior, after all. But why would either of them need to assume that responsibility just yet? Neither of them were even remotely ready for that.

"Who would you even train?" he asked.

"_Finn, apparently,_" Ania told him.

"Finn? The stormtrooper?"

"_He's not a stormtrooper anymore, Ben,_" Ania corrected him.

"But… he's Force-sensitive? Since when?"

"_I don't know. Mom didn't tell me anything_."

Unsure what to say, Ben looked away where he saw BB-8 peeking at him from around the corner. Startled that he had been discovered, the spherical droid let out a high pitched squawk before tearing away down the hallway back toward the cockpit.

Smirking slightly, Ben returned his attention to Ania who was scrutinizing him with narrowed eyes. "What?" he asked, slightly unnerved by her expression.

"_You found Luke, didn't you?_"

"What makes you think that?"

"_You wouldn't be calling Mom to tell her you didn't find him. You're not that brave_."

Ben snorted in amusement. "That's true," he conceded.

"_So?_" Ania asked, leaning forward closer toward him. "_What happened?_"

Ben sighed and ran a hand through his hair which was still quite wet. Wiping his palm against his robes, Ben took a few moments before answering as he contemplated how best to explain the enigma that was his uncle. "I'm afraid Mom might be right," he said finally, rubbing his forehead wearily as he bowed his head.

"_Right about what?_" Ania asked.

"She thought I'd fail," he said, his voice no doubt sounding muted to Ania as he spoke down to the floor. "She thought there was no way Luke would ever come back." Ania didn't say anything right away, much to his surprise. He would have expected her to instantly try to reassure him and tell him not to give up. Perhaps she wasn't doing that because she too thought that his mission was futile.

"_I was afraid of the same thing when I went to Jakku to find Lor,_" Ania told him after a few moments of silence. Looking up, Ben saw nodding to herself as she spoke. "_Luke barely even knows me. I didn't think I'd be able to convince him to return even if I did manage to find him. So you know what I did?_" Ben shook his head, not bothering to answer. "_I asked him what to do._"

"Him?" Ben repeated, perplexed.

"_Our grandfather_," Ania elaborated.

Ben straightened his back as his interest piqued. "I just talked to him," he told her.

"_Oh really? What did he say?_"

Ben shrugged. "Not much," he said. "He never really tells you anything directly, does he?"

Ania shook her head. "_If you ask him the right question, he might,_" she said. "_I take it you didn't ask for his advice?_"

Ben blinked a couple of times. "Erm… no, not really," he confessed.

"_Well that's okay, because I did,_" Ania told him cheerily. "_You know what he said?_" Once again, Ben shook his head without speaking. "_He told me he would handle it and that all I needed to do was find him._"

"What does he mean by that?" Ben asked.

"_I'm not sure, but he told me that he couldn't find Luke because he closed himself off from the Force. I'd imagine that all you need to do is get Luke to open back up to the Force and then Anakin will be able to find him._"

"You say that like it's so easy," Ben said, fingers digging into his knee underneath the table. "You haven't seen him, Ania. He's a broken old man. He doesn't listen to anything I say."

"_Who said he has to listen?_" Ania asked. Ben arched an eyebrow, not following this logic. "_Look, all you need to do is get him to tap into the Force,_" she expounded. "_I'm sure you can figure out a way to do that, right_?"

Ben frowned as he considered this. "I, uh… yeah, I guess," he said, not willing to admit that he had no idea how to do that. How could he convince someone to use the Force if they had sworn never to use it again? It's not like he could 'force' Luke into using the Force. Cringing at his unintended pun, Ben snorted and looked away. "I'll figure something out," he said. "In the meantime, I want you to keep me updated with everything that's going on with the war. Who knows, maybe if things get bad enough, Luke will feel guilty and come back on his own accord."

"_Did you tell him about Chandrila?_" Ania asked.

"Yep," Ben affirmed.

"_And that didn't work?_" she asked, eyebrows shooting upward. Ben shook his head. "_Wow,_" Ania said. "_That's…_"

"Pathetic?" Ben provided.

"_Sad,_" Ania said instead.

Ben shrugged. "He's stubborn like Mom, I suppose," he mumbled.

"_You don't feel sorry for him?_" Ania asked.

"Sorry for him? Why should I feel sorry for him?"

"_You saw what happened on Yavin,_" Ania said. "_Can't you relate with his suffering even a little bit?"_

Ben shook his head without giving the question a moment of consideration. "He's being selfish, Ania," he said. "We all were devastated when she died, but that doesn't mean we get to hide away and abandon our responsibilities. He should be ashamed of himself for what he did."

Ania pursed her lips at Ben's trenchant comment. "_I think you ought to be a bit more empathetic, Ben,_" she said cautiously. "_You can blame him all you want, but the only way to move forward is to let go of the past. You of all people should know that_."

Ben faltered, instantly knowing what Ania was making reference to. "That's different!" he insisted.

"_Is it?_" Ania asked skeptically. "_You forgave me, why can't you forgive him?_"

"I… because…"

"_Is this some stupid masculinity thing?_" she asked.

"What? No! What does that even mean?"

"_I just can't think of another reason why you're so unwilling to show an ounce of compassion toward Luke when you were willing to forgive me for everything and more._"

Ben faltered for a few moments as he sought to an explanation. Truth be told, Ben had never thought about comparing Luke's situation to Ania's. In his mind, Luke had made a conscious decision to abandon his responsibilities and leave his family whereas Ania had not known any better and had been more or less coerced into committing a heinous crime.

But that wasn't really true, was it? Ania _had _known better. She had said so time and time again. She claimed that she had convinced herself that killing her father was the right thing to do. Snoke hadn't been the one responsible – she had been. Yet Ben had always refused to accept this. Perhaps it was simply too difficult to accept.

"I don't know what to say, Ania," he admitted finally. "I can't just make myself feel sorry for him."

"_Yeah, well you're going to have to try something,_" Ania said.

He supposed he did.

* * *

The days stretched into weeks. Ben didn't know what to try yet he was too stubborn to ask anyone for help and especially too proud to concede defeat. He spent his days following Luke around the island as his hermit uncle performed the same mundane tasks over and over again. Ben frankly couldn't understand how Luke hadn't gone insane from sheer boredom on this island. Occasionally Poe would tag along – always at a distance as he merely observed the two Skywalkers go about their odd routine.

Life on Ahch-To was entirely predictable. Every morning the suns would rise in a clear, vibrant blue sky. By midafternoon, however, the clouds would roll in and bring a torrential rain storm which would last long until the night. It was during one of these quotidian rain storms that Ben found himself huddled in Luke's hut. Typically he tried to accompany Luke during the mornings and dart down the steps toward the Falcon the moment the clouds began to arrive. Today he had elected to stay, however. He had felt as if he had been making serious progress with his uncle. They had been talking, which in and of itself was a rarity. Moreover, the subject matter was particularly encouraging to Ben. All morning, they had been talking about her. About Padmé.

Ben wasn't sure entirely how the subject had come up or why Luke had allowed it to persist. While they often talked about Leia and Ania, his uncle always shot him down when he broached the painful subject of Padmé's death.

"I don't want to talk about it, Ben," Luke had said sharply when Ben had first asked him about her. "It's not something I'm ready to discuss."

"You're not ready?" Ben had asked incredulously. "It's been three years! When are you ever going to be ready?" Luke had once again not bothered to offer an explanation. Ben had come to realize that Luke didn't have answers to many of his questions, and by simply not responding Luke was conceding the fallacy of his position. Yet despite knowing that he was wrong – and he _had _to know that he was wrong – Luke just didn't care. He didn't care enough to defend his indefensible position.

This morning, however, Ben hadn't abruptly brought up his grandmother. On the contrary, the conversation had naturally flowed toward her. As per usual, Ben was telling his uncle more about Ania. Luke was quite eager to learn more about his niece whom he knew so little about, and Ben was more than happy to oblige him.

"I think she feels guilty in a way," he had said to Luke who had been busying himself inspecting the mushrooms which were growing on the side of the trail leading up to the temple at the apex of the island. "She blames herself for not ever being able to meet her." He had paused, frowning as he craned his head and looked up at the craggy cliffs above. "She's not really wrong for feeling that way, is she?"

"No, I suppose not," Luke had murmured before uprooting a mushroom head and cautiously licking it with the tip of his tongue. "This will do," he had said to himself.

Ben had carried the sack full of mushrooms back to Luke's hut just as the rain began to fall. The whole trip back, the two had been talking about Padmé. Mostly Ben would listen as Luke told story after story about the woman whom he so clearly admired above all else. Now Ben was seated on Luke's bed as his uncle absently stirred a pot situated atop a hearth in the center of his hut. He listened with a faint smile on his face as Luke told him about the time he had first gone to Naboo with his mother.

"I had never really had a home of my own, you know," Luke told him, glancing up from the pot momentarily as the stew began to bubble. "Tatooine was hardly the most hospitable planet, and everyone I ever knew from there was dead by that point anyway."

"Yeah, Ania's not really a fan of Tatooine either," Ben said mildly.

Luke snorted as he resumed stirring with the wooden ladle. "Well it sounds like she had it worse than me," he said. "I at least had my freedom. Regardless, I never felt at home in the desert. Some part of me always knew that I belonged elsewhere." He paused as he raised the ladle and inspected the earthy stew before tipping the contents back into the pot. "During the war, the three of us were so busy with our respective responsibilities, it made going to Naboo all but impossible. Mom knew that after the war she would be elected chancellor, however, and she would be even less able to go in an unofficial capacity so she was determined to go before that happened." Luke stopped for a second time, the sound of the bubbling stew and the soft pattering of rain against the roof above filling the silence between them. "Leia was the busiest, though. I really wanted her to come with us, but she said she just couldn't. Or maybe she could, but didn't want to go. Either way, just Mom and I went that first time. She had to travel incognito, of course. She wore this red and orange dress with a big old hood which obscured her whole face. I felt totally ridiculous touring Theed with her like that."

Ben chuckled at the image. "I'd bet," he said.

Luke nodded and smiled thinly. "She took the hood off when we left the city and headed out to the countryside, though," he said, his voice now sounding distinctly wistful as he looked away from Ben. "I'd never seen a planet more beautiful than Naboo. I was instantly in love."

"That's because there is no more beautiful planet," Ben commented, feeling a pang of longing for his home planet which he hadn't visited in several years.

"No, there isn't," Luke agreed. He stared off blankly at the opposite wall for a few moments before shaking himself out of it. Standing up slowly, he reached over toward the shelf and produced two mottled ceramic bowls. Returning to the pot, he poured two modest portions in each before extending one to Ben.

"Thanks," Ben mumbled as he accepted his uncle's offering. Ben typically tried to avoid eating Luke's various concoctions, but tonight he would have to make do. Besides, there were only so many ration bars a man could eat.

"She, uh… she told me that Naboo was where I belonged," Luke told him in a husky voice as he sat cross-legged on the dirt floor opposite Ben. Glancing down at the untouched bowl of stew in his lap, Luke blew on it half-heartedly before looking back up. "And that… and that home was wherever we were all together."

Ben contemplated his uncle silently for a few moments as he set his bowl down on his lap. "Is that why you're here?" he asked eventually. "Because you don't feel like you have a home anymore?"

A long silence followed this question – so long in fact, Ben had been quite sure that Luke wasn't going to respond at all as he had proven so adept at doing time and time again. This time, however, he did speak.

"I know you're disappointed in me, Ben," he said finally, frowning as he stirred up the contents of his bowl with a dented metal spoon. "You think I'm giving up on our family."

"Aren't you?" Ben asked, yet without the typical astringency.

"My whole life I did what others wanted me to do. Perhaps you can relate to this. When I was a boy, my guardians wanted me to be a farmer, so that's what I did. When I left Tatooine, Obi-Wan wanted me to be a Jedi, so I did that too. After he was gone, I stuck with it because Leia wanted me to. The only person who ever cared to ask me what I wanted was my mother. She was the only person who ever actually prioritized me and cared about me for who I was. Obi-Wan always saw me as Anakin's son. To an extent, Leia even saw me in that light as well. I was always a person of secondary importance. I was the second Skywalker Obi-Wan ever trained. I was the second friend my sister ever made. Hell, even the Emperor thought of me as the second twin. Mom was the only person who didn't think of me that way. To her, I was just her son."

Luke fell silent and looked away sharply when his eyes began to tear up. Setting his bowl aside, Ben pursed his lips as he assimilated this unprompted speech.

"I want to be my own person, Ben," Luke told him. "And all of this. The Jedi and the Sith, the battle between good and evil, none of that is relevant to me. That's not my fight."

"How can you say that?" Ben asked, leaning forward toward his weary uncle. "What would your mother think if she heard you say that? What would she say if you told her that you intended to abandon your sister in her time of need?"

Luke shrugged apathetically and refused to make eye contact with his nephew. "There's no way to know, Ben," he said with a heavy sigh. "She's gone."


	30. Bleed Red

Chapter 30 – Bleed Red

"Ben! Ben come back! It's not safe!"

Ben waved his hand agitatedly as he stumbled down the muddy hillside. He simply hadn't been able to endure it any longer. He couldn't stand to be near his uncle for a moment longer.

"Ben!"

The sounds of the wailing wind and torrential downpour drowned out Luke's voice as Ben made his way toward the village below. Ben wasn't stupid. He knew it was too dangerous to try to return to the Falcon in a storm as tempestuous as this one. He'd spend the night in one of the other stone huts. He just had to get away from Luke and the oppressive depression which swirled around the man like a pall. He felt as if he couldn't even breathe when he was near him.

Reaching the village, Ben wrenched the door open to the first hut he came across. Hurrying inside, he slammed the door behind him and staggered toward the cold hearth in the center of the floor. He brushed aside his sopping wet hair before tearing his shirt off and throwing it aside. Shivering mightily, Ben rubbed his arms together as he walked over toward the firewood rack along the opposite wall. As he leaned down to pick up a log, Ben suddenly realized he had made a critical error.

"Shit!" he exclaimed. He patted his empty pockets despite knowing that he didn't have any matches on him. Luke was always the one with the matches, not him! There was sure as hell no way Ben was going to go crawling back to Luke now after how he had left. Oh Force, he was going to freeze to death in this frigid hut!

"You look cold."

Startled, Ben yelped as he jumped around. The firewood fell out of his hands as he instinctively reached toward his belt. His hand froze, however, when he saw who it was standing by the door on the opposite side of the hearth.

"Rey!"

Rey furrowed her brow as she glanced down at his bare torso. "Where's your shirt?" she asked bluntly.

Ben blinked a few times in bewilderment. "I, uh… I took it off," he told her. "It's soaking wet."

"Why?" she asked.

"Er… because it's raining."

Rey glanced around at her surroundings. "It's not raining here," she commented. Unsure of what to say to this, Ben began to tap his foot against the ground as he continued to shiver ferociously.

"I have firewood, just n-no matches," he explained as he reached down and picked up the firewood.

"Where are you?" Rey asked him. "Why do you need to start a fire to keep warm?"

Ben hesitated as he considered what to say. His mother certainly wouldn't want him telling Rey the truth about where he was, but then again, she wouldn't have condoned him conversing with her in the first place. And while Ben had no idea how he and Rey were talking at all, he certainly wasn't going to stop now. If he was going to disregard his mother's wishes in this way, he might as well be consistent about it.

"I'm on a r-remote planet way past the Outer Rim," he said, teeth still chattering.

"What are you doing there?" Rey asked, frowning.

"Looking for my uncle," he told her freely.

"Looking for him? Why do you need to be looking for him?"

"It's a long story, okay?" Ben said. "Look, Rey, I'd love to talk, but first I need to find out a way to start this fire before I freeze to death."

"I can do it," Rey said at once.

"What?"

"Give it to me," she instructed, holding out her hand.

"Give it to you?" he repeated, perplexed.

Rey rolled her eyes and waved her hand. The log went soaring out of Ben's hand toward Rey. Holding her palm out, she stopped it midway between them. Flourishing her fingers, she suddenly sent a wave of crackling white electricity toward the log which promptly erupted in flames. Stunned by this casual display of power, Ben's mouth fell open as he watched her drop the burning piece of firewood down to the ground and into the hearth.

"How… how did you just do that?" he asked incredulously.

"Uh, the Force? Duh," Rey said with a smirk. "Honestly, Ben. Has your master really not taught you how to do that?"

Ben slowly looked up from the fire, his hands extended toward the crackling flames as he began to warm up. "Is that what you call him?" he asked cautiously. "Is that what Sidious is to you? Your master?"

Rey's expression faltered at this question. "You don't know him like I do, Ben," she told him coldly.

"Oh not?" he asked.

"He cares for me," Rey told him.

"Cares for you how?"

"Like Dad used to."

Ben shook his head vigorously. "Don't do that, Rey," he said. "Don't equivocate them. They're nothing alike and you know it. Sidious doesn't care about you like my father did. He just wants to use you."

Rey clenched her jaw and looked away. "You don't know what you're talking about," she said.

"No, Rey. You're the one who doesn't understand."

"Vitrius lies!" Rey shrieked suddenly, startling Ben who leapt a half step back. "She's manipulating you! She's trying to turn you against me!"

"The only one being manipulated is you, Rey," Ben said as calmly as he could. Rey flared her nostrils at him, yet she didn't offer a rebuttal. Taking a tentative step toward her, he held out his hands to convey his good will. "Let me help you, Rey," he exhorted her.

"I don't need help, Ben," Rey snapped so viciously that Ben flinched. "You're the one who serves a monster, not me."

"What has he told you about my mother?" Ben asked, determined not to lose faith. "What sort of things do you think she's done?"

"She killed my grandfather! She had my birth parents hunted down and murdered! She did everything in her power to keep me hidden away on Jakku!"

"That's not true at all," Ben said as he sidestepped the hearth and began walking around the circumference toward Rey. Eying him suspiciously, she took a synchronous step back. Undeterred, Ben continued to advance. "He's lying to you, Rey. My mother never knew about your birth parents. She only learned about you when my father found you on Jakku six years ago."

"Don't come any closer!" Rey cried when he took another step toward her. Stopping, Ben nodded and kept his hands raised. Glancing over toward his shirt which he had discarded on the floor, Ben summoned it to his hand and quickly threw it over his head. His clammy skin protested at the wet fabric, but Ben tugged the shirt down regardless. He didn't want to make Rey feel any more uncomfortable than she already was.

"I'm not your enemy, Rey," Ben told her as he straightened out the hem of his shirt before raising his hands once again. "And neither is my family. Let me show you."

"How will you do that?" Rey asked, her voice a bit hoarse as she looked up at him with wide eyes.

"Take my hand," Ben instructed. Lowering his hands, he extended the right one to her. Rey's eyes darted downward, her lips parted slightly as she stared at the offering. "Please," he added, his voice quivering with desperation.

"I… I can trust you," she said. Ben couldn't tell if it was a question.

"You can trust me," he assured her. "I'm your brother."

"You're my brother."

The corner of Ben's lips twitched. "Yeah, I am," he said.

Rey reciprocated his tentative smile as she slowly raised her hand. Ben held his breath as she reached out, their fingers merely centimeters apart…

"Ben, no!"

The door to the hut flew open with a crash. Lurching backward, Ben's hand went to his belt as he saw his uncle standing in the doorway – his mane of gray hair soaking wet from the rain which was pelting down on him.

"Did you follow me?" Ben asked, drawing his weapon. "What the hell?"

"You were talking with her, weren't you?" Luke shouted over the gale.

"That's none of your business!"

"How could you do this, Ben? How could you do something so irresponsible?"

Disregarding this inflammatory question, Ben looked to his left to see that Rey was gone. "You ruined everything!" he bellowed, rage coursing through him as he activated his lightsaber without knowing what he was doing.

"Sheath your weapon!" Luke ordered, pointing a finger at him.

"This is your fault! You're the reason she's gone! You failed to protect her!"

"You're the one who failed!" Luke shot back. "You're the reason she's dead!"

"I hate you!" Ben roared. With that, he charged toward the doorframe with his lightsaber held high. Startled, Luke staggered away and back into the storm. Ben's white blade sliced through the stone wall as he emerged on the other side. Luke quickly recovered his footing as he backed away from Ben who continued to slash at him with his lightsaber. His uncle was more nimble than him, however. He dodged each one of Ben's heavy swings as he backpedaled down the cobblestone pathway.

Ben's suddenly skidded when he stepped on a slippery bed of moss. Stumbling forward, Ben lowered his lightsaber momentarily giving Luke an opportunity to strike. Kicking upward, the tip of Luke's boot smashed into Ben's right wrist, causing him to lose his grip on his lightsaber. The still-active blade fell out of his hand as he yelped in pain. Capitalizing on his vulnerable position, Luke charged him and attempted to push him to the ground. Bracing himself, Ben managed to stay upright as he pushed Luke right back. The pair strained against one another amidst the raging storm, neither willing to sacrifice an inch to one another.

Ben was far stronger than his uncle, however. Gaining the upper hand, he managed to get Luke off of him. Falling on his rear, Luke crawled away and just barely managed to avoid Ben's brutal kick. Leaping to his feet with surprising grace, Luke resumed his retreat as Ben went barreling after him. Sidestepping his sloppy assault, Luke rapped him on the back of the head on the way by. Incensed, Ben spun around and attempted to charge again when he felt a powerful blow strike him directly in the chest. Taken off his feet, Ben went flying away where he smashed into the base of another stone hut. Dazed, he looked up groggily as he saw Luke summon Ben's discarded white lightsaber into his hand. Eyes widening with fear, Ben attempted to stand up, but his legs weren't responsive. He ceased struggling when Luke marched over to him and pointed the tip of his own blade to Ben's chest. Petrified, Ben looked down at the trembling blade pointed an inch from his heart…

"_Well done, Luke. Well done._"

Ben exhaled in relief but didn't dare look away from the lightsaber. He was saved! For a singular moment he had been certain that Luke was going to kill him.

"_Put away the weapon._"

"Go away. You don't belong here," he heard Luke say, his voice dripping with acrimony.

"_Neither do you._"

The ensuing silence was permeated only by the overwhelming sound of the rain crashing down around them. Spitting water out of his mouth, Ben allowed himself to glance upward where he saw Luke staring down at him with a murderous expression. When their eyes met, however, Luke's fury seemed to partially abate. Taking a deep breath, Luke deactivated the white blade and took a step back.

"Here," Luke said, offering his hand to Ben as he pocketed the lightsaber. Ignoring this gesture, Ben struggled to his feet on his own, pressing his back against the stone wall behind him as he managed to stand fully upright. Once he was back on his feet, Ben took a step to his left away from Luke.

"I'm done," he said, shaking his head as he continued backing away. "I'm done with you and your defeatist bullshit."

"Ben, I'm sorry," Luke said halfheartedly.

"You're pathetic," Ben spat. "I think you're pathetic."

"_Ben. Stop._"

"Ben, please."

Ben ignored them both as he spun around and marched away, the echoes of his footsteps drowned out by the roar of the rain.

* * *

Rey's hand was still extended outward, her mouth hanging ajar as she stared at the empty space in front of her. She blinked a few times, utterly bewildered by what had just happened. She had committed herself to taking Ben's hand, to accepting her brother's offer to help, when he simply disappeared.

Had Sidious interfered somehow? Maybe he had sensed their connection and put an end to it somehow? It was certainly possible that he would do such a thing. After all, he had expressly told her to cease thinking about Ben. Surely he would be irate if he had found out about their illicit conversations.

Thinking back to what Ben had told her, Rey found herself beginning to grow angry with her grandfather. While she didn't think he was manipulating her as Ben suggested, per se, she could realize that his treatment of her hadn't been particularly fair. Who was he to tell her not to think about Ben? He didn't control her! She was in charge, not him! Right?

Lost in thought, Rey was rudely shaken back to reality when her comlink vibrated against her end table. Looking up, Rey summoned the device to her hand and activated it as she stood up off her bed.

"Yes?" she asked with a frown upon raising the comlink to her mouth. The device was specifically designed for her personal use, being equipped with a voice modulator which allowed her to speak to her subordinates without having to wear the dreaded mask.

"_Forgive me for disturbing you, Lord Ren, but I assure you this is an urgent matter,_" a familiar voice said.

Covering the microphone with her palm, Rey groaned and shook her head wearily. She had practically been working nonstop since assuming direct control over the First Order two weeks ago. While it had been immensely cathartic to publicly humiliate Hux like she had, the repercussion had been that the generals were now too afraid to act independently of her. She had to oversee every little move now and her subordinates constantly sought her approval even for the most mundane and rudimentary operations.

"What is it, Allegiant General?" Rey asked, doing her best to hide all hints of weariness from her voice.

"_Moff Jerjerrod just arrived on board, My Lord,_" Pryde informed her. "_Would you like to meet with him now or should I tell him to wait?_"

Kneading her forehead with her left hand, Rey bowed her head as she considered the question. "No, it's best if I meet with him now," she said with a sigh. "The Moff has been disrespected enough as is," she added, making reference to how Hux had strong-armed the venerable Jerjerrod into firing the weapon despite knowing that it wasn't ready yet. The injudicious order had consequently inflicted serious damage both on the weapon's kyber-powered superlaser and on its incomplete superstructure.

"_Very well, My Lord,_" Pryde said, his obsequious tone causing Rey to grit her teeth. "_The Moff will be waiting for you in the committee room._"

"I will be there shortly," Rey said before swiftly deactivating the comlink. Setting it down on her end table, Rey exhaled slowly as she traipsed over toward her dresser. Picking up her helmet, she eyed the accessory contemptuously for a few moments before fitting it on her head. She paused, hands still rested on the sides of her mask as she looked at herself in the mirror. Her reflection was tinged with red on account to the filter in front of her eyes. While she could appreciate the many perks the lenses had – thermal imaging capability and the ability to withstand blaster fire being chief among them – she had never been able to get comfortable with the tinge. Everything looked so… grim.

Lowering her hands, Rey shook her head and spun around, discarding her qualms with the mask as she did so. Striding out of her quarters, she marched crisply down the halls of the _Revenge _toward the committee room. Stormtroopers and uniformed officers all stopped what they were doing to salute as she passed by. She never reciprocated the formality, rolling her eyes in exasperation underneath her mask as she quickened her pace further still.

The door to the committee room slid open as Rey approached. The black table which she had destroyed two weeks prior had yet to be replaced, and as a result Jerjerrod was standing at attention in the empty room when she walked in. Face blanching when he noticed her arrival, the portly Moff stiffened his back and gave her a rigid salute.

"Lord Ren, it is a pleasure," Jerjerrod said as he placed his hands behind his back. Rey narrowed her eyes and elected to disregard this comment as the door closed behind her with a clang. Gulping, Jerjerrod beady eyes darted behind her as he realized they were alone.

"What news do you have for me, Moff Jerjerrod?" Rey asked, choosing to ignore his antsy demeanor.

"I, um, well I have good news for you as it would have it," the Moff stammered. "Well, perhaps good is not an adequate word. Certainly not bad! No, if anything it's good. There are a few extenuating circumstances to consider, of course, but all in all quite good. Quite good, indeed."

Rey stared silently at the Moff for a good fifteen seconds after he ceased rambling. Jerjerrod licked his lips and quaked visibly as he looked down at his boots. "Well?" Rey asked finally, an irritated edge to her voice. "Are you going to elaborate?"

"Of course!" Jerjerrod said at once. "I was just, uh… I was just getting to that." Rey tilted her head, prompting the Moff to gulp audibly once again. "The damage done to the station's superstructure has been deemed far less severe than initially estimated," he told her. "The cost assessment has subsequently dropped considerably."

"What does considerably mean, Moff?" Rey asked.

"Threefold, at least," Jerjerrod said.

"In terms of credits, I mean," Rey said. "How expensive will the repairs be?"

At this, Jerjerrod faltered. "Er… well you see, it's hard to put a figure on it –"

"You just told me the expected cost was reduced threefold, is this correct?" Rey interrupted. Jerjerrod nodded vigorously, his black hat knocked slightly askew as he did this. "So what was the initial cost estimate?" Jerjerrod mumbled something incoherent, forcing Rey to lean in toward him. "What was that, Moff?" she asked in a growl.

"Six billion credits," he said, this time in an audible albeit extremely mousy voice.

"Six billion?" she repeated incredulously. "But I thought the whole station only required five billion! How can it be that the repairs would cost more than the initial construction?"

"There are a number of factors one must consider when looking at these figures, My Lord," Jerjerrod said in a high voice.

"Such as?" Rey asked.

"Well… first of all, construction of the station began thirty years ago before the Empire's collapse," Jerjerrod explained.

"So?" Rey asked.

"We had a great many discounts on materials and labor back then," Jerjerrod told her, his head bobbing and his jowls jiggling as he talked. "The Empire operated a plethora of state owned enterprises which held virtual monopolies on the materials we needed, and the prices were far lower because of that. Now we are in an unfortunate position of having to negotiate with smugglers and pirates who operate on far less… convenient terms."

"I see," Rey said. Inclining her chin, she peered down at Jerjerrod for a moment longer before turning away from him. She could hear the Moff exhale in relief as she took a couple of steps in the opposite direction. "What other factors are there?" she asked.

"Pardon?"

"You said there were a number of factors to consider," she said.

"Oh! Yes, that's right," Jerjerrod said as she slowly turned back around to face him. "Repairing pre-existing superstructure is always going to be more expensive than building from scratch," he said, speaking with far greater conviction now. "Frankly, it's a complete logistical nightmare once the scaffolding has been removed."

Rey frowned, yet decided to take the Moff at his word. After all, he knew far more about these sort of things than she did. "So what are you telling me? That it's going to cost two billion credits to repair the station?" she asked.

Jerjerrod fumbled with his collar, his forehead beginning to glisten with a sheen of sweat as he shook his head. "Not exactly, no," he said. "It's going to cost about two billion for the superstructure, but the laser is going to require some attention as well."

"What kind of attention?"

"A few of the kyber arrays were fractured," Jerjerrod told her.

"I was under the impression that the laser was still operational," she said, taking a step toward the Moff. "You _told me_ that it was still operational," she added ominously.

"And it is," Jerjerrod said quickly. "It's just…"

"Just what?" she asked when he trailed off.

"It would be optimal if we could restore the crystal arrays, that's all," he said.

"Why is that?"

"The laser produced by fractured kyber is volatile and hard to control," Jerjerrod explained. "Furthermore, there is a risk that the crystal composition may deteriorate further if we activate the weapon a second time without restoring them first. While the odds are minute, it is possible that the entire station may be destroyed if the crystals are damaged severely enough."

Contemplating this dire assessment, Rey looked away whilst twiddling her thumbs behind her back. "How do you intend on restoring the crystals, Moff?" she asked. "Kyber is an especially difficult substance to mend, is it not?"

"It is difficult, yes, but not impossible," Jerjerrod told her. "It's a resource intensive process."

"What sort of resources does this process require?" Rey asked.

"Er… well, it requires more kyber, you see."

"More kyber?"

"The only way to restore the crystalline structure we need to fill in the gaps the initial fracturing created," Jerjerrod explained. "Combining the exogenous kyber with a durasteel alloy should provide us with an adequately restored crystal capable of firing without risk."

"It _should_?" Rey asked skeptically. "You speak as if you are uncertain, Moff. Has this procedure not been done before?"

Jerjerrod's eyes darted down to his boots. "Er… no, it hasn't," he admitted.

"So this is purely theoretical?"

"You could say that."

"Would you say that?"

Jerjerrod didn't answer her, his neck seemingly disappearing as he shied away from her frightfully. Eyes narrowed, Rey reached to her belt and produced her lightsaber. Jerjerrod made a strangled sound when she swiftly ignited the blade and held it up to his face.

"Do you know why this blade is red, Moff?" she asked, her voice deep and menacing as she raised the weapon so that Jerjerrod could inspect it from a new angle.

"Because, the, um… the crystal is red," he provided.

Rey rolled her eyes beneath her mask. "Yes, but why is the crystal red?"

"I… I don't understand."

"Clearly not," she said snidely. "You don't understand kyber like I do. It is not a crude material like steel or stone. It is alive." She paused, inching toward Jerjerrod who seemed paralyzed with fear. "It's alive just like us," she whispered, now only a few inches separating her from the Moff. "Do you know why?" Jerjerrod shook his head, his eyes never deviating from the blade in front of his nose. "Because it bleeds," she hissed.

Jerjerrod inhaled sharply as he looked up toward her mask to meet her gaze. "Bleeds?" he repeated, his voice cracking comically.

"Oh yes," Rey said with a humorless smile. "It bleeds red, just like you, Moff Jerjerrod. Just like you."

She relished the Moff's terror for a few moments longer before stepping away from him and deactivating the blade. She wasn't sure how much more of this mental torture the man could take. He was far more valuable to her alive than dead, after all. He was right where she wanted him: on the cusp. As long as Jerjerrod feared for his life yet was not so afraid that he ceased to function properly, he would be immeasurably useful to her.

"Take me to the Death Star, Moff Jerjerrod," she instructed upon returning her grandfather's lightsaber to her belt. "I will assess the damage myself. Perhaps there is something I can do about this kyber which you cannot."

"W-what makes you think that?" Jerjerrod asked brazenly.

Rey merely smirked at the Moff before spinning around and marching away and out of the committee room.

* * *

"_You're just going to let him go? You're not going to try and stop him?_"

Luke was standing atop a cliff amidst the torrential storm as he watched his disgruntled nephew stumble down the steps and toward the Falcon on the beaches below. One leg elevated on a rock, Luke's robes and hair billowed behind him as rain pelted him directly in the face.

"Go away, Vader," Luke growled as he spared a side glance toward his father's ghost. "This is a holy island. Your vile presence is not appreciated."

"_Wow,_" Vader said, shaking his head as he crossed his arms in front of his chest. "_So that's how it is?_"

"Yes, that's how it is," Luke said, not appreciating Vader's glibness. "When I wake up tomorrow morning, I expect you to be gone."

"_The only person who will be gone is your nephew,_" Vader said, all traces of levity now absent from his voice as he took a step toward him. "_You still have time to rectify things with him._"

Luke snarled at Vader. "What is there to rectify?" he asked as he lowered his leg and spun away from the cliff. "He's the one who attacked me."

"_Then why are you the one holding his lightsaber?_" Vader asked him.

Luke looked down at the lightsaber hilt in his right hand which he had injudiciously stolen from Ben a few minutes prior. "That was a mistake," Luke said, looking up from the weapon to meet his father's judgmental eyes. "I have no need for this." With that, Luke made to throw the lightsaber over his shoulder and off the cliff. Just as the weapon left his hand, however, Vader reached out and grabbed it with the Force.

"_How dare you,_" he said ominously. "_This is your sister's blade. Have you no respect for the sanctity of this weapon?_"

Luke shook his head as he begrudgingly grabbed the suspended lightsaber out of the air. "I have no respect for weapons of any kind," he said as he walked straight toward his father's ghost and down the hill. Vader disappeared and rematerialized by his side as Luke went trudging through the mud toward the village.

"_You don't respect your sister anymore?_" Vader asked him provocatively.

"I didn't say that," Luke muttered.

"_Not with words, maybe, but in every other way you did,_" Vader said.

Luke clenched his jaw and refused to look at Vader. "Go away," he demanded. "I don't want to talk to you."

"_You know, your sister used to say that to me a lot back when she was a child,_" Vader told him.

"Yeah, well maybe she had a point."

"_You're being a fool, Luke,_" Vader said as they reached the village and began walking down the cobble-stone road. "_Your sister needs your help. You can't seriously think that it's right for you to stay here on this island for the rest of your life._"

"Go. Away."

"_Coward!_" Vader shrieked, startling Luke who spun around to see that his father's ghost had ceased walking by his side and was now staring back at him with a murderous look in his eyes. "_After everything I did for this family, you're just going to throw it all away!_"

"After everything you did?" Luke repeated incredulously. "What did you do, exactly? Try to kill us? Strangle your wife and torture your daughter? Am I supposed to be grateful for that?"

"_I redeemed myself!_" Vader shot back, stomping his incorporeal foot against the ground. "_I brought balance to the Force and kept it that way for thirty years! And now you're just going to piss it away!_"

"Go away!" Luke roared for a third time. "Go away, damnit! Leave me alone!"

"_Make me!_" Vader bellowed, extending his arms at his sides in an attempt to egg him on. "_If you want me gone, do something about it. Do something for the first time in your life!_"

Enraged by this accusation, Luke raised his sister's lightsaber without realizing what he was doing. Activating the weapon, he charged toward his father with a scream. Before he knew it, Luke was on his back several dozen meters away, having been struck directly in the chest by a tremendous force. Wincing, he sat upright and looked up to see Vader looming directly over him.

"_Get up,_" he said, his eyes ablaze with a fearsome fire. "_Get up and fight me._"

Incensed, Luke slashed his lightsaber at Vader's legs, yet the blade merely went straight through his ghost. Unimpressed, Vader lifted Luke into the air by his throat and sent him flying away for a second time. Luke smashed into the base of stone hut, his vision momentarily going black when his head whipped backward.

"_Come on! Do something, you weakling! Do something!_"

Palpating the back of his head with his left hand, Luke somehow managed to get to his feet and raise his lightsaber. Seeing Vader a few feet in front of him, Luke's blood pounded in his ears as he began to shake with fury. "I hate you!" he screamed, slashing his blade blindly at Vader's ghost to no effect. "I hate you! I hate you! I hate you!"

"_Make me go away! Prove me wrong! Prove to me that you aren't a coward!_"

Screaming at the top of his lungs, Luke thrust out with both hands and unleashed a tidal wave of energy toward Vader's ghost. Luke fell to his knees as the blue-tinged figure went soaring away and fizzled out of sight. Exhausted from the exertion, Luke's body went limp as he collapsed face first into the stone ground below. Just before his forehead collided with the cobbled road, however, everything went black.


	31. Dyslexic and Disaffected

**In honor of Revenge of the Fifth, here's the angstiest chapter I've ever written. Ania would make Anakin proud!**

Chapter 31 – Dyslexic and Disaffected

"I just… I don't know what you want me to do, okay?"

Ania suppressed a growl as she clenched her jaw. She was seated cross-legged with her eyes closed in her mother's personal quarters aboard the _Skywalker. _Seated in front of her in a synonymous style was her newly-appointed Padawan Finn.

"Finn, I've _told_ you what I want you to do," she said. "What don't you understand about my instructions?" A silence followed this question. Exasperated, Ania sighed and opened her eyes. "Okay, let's take a break for now," she compromised.

Following her instruction, Finn opened his eyes and blinked a few times as he looked back at her. "You're disappointed in me, aren't you?" he asked bashfully.

"Of course not!" Ania insisted as she got to her feet and walked toward the door. "Why would you think that?" she asked as she waved her hand over the sensor to turn the lights back on.

"You said this shouldn't be difficult," Finn said, craning his head to follow her with his eyes. "You said you were able to find the Force right away."

"Everyone's different, Finn," Ania told her friend as she walked back over toward him.

"You mean I'm not as good as you," he said dryly.

"What? No!" Ania exclaimed. "I didn't say that at all!"

"Yeah, but it's what you think," Finn said as Ania crossed her arms in front of her chest. She opened her mouth to contradict him, but Finn interjected before she had the chance. "Look, Ania, I get it," he said, holding out his palms to her. "I'm a Stormtrooper. Nobody ever expected anything from me anyway."

"That's ridiculous!" Ania said, stomping her foot as she shook her head vigorously. "Who cares what other people expect from you? All that matters is what you expect of yourself."

Finn arched his eyebrow skeptically as he slowly got up to his feet. Straightening out his cream-colored tunic, Finn exhaled loudly out his mouth as he bowed his head. "That's easy for you to say," he said in a muted voice. "You're practically royalty."

"Excuse me?" Ania asked.

"You heard me," Finn said, looking up sharply. "You're a goddamn princess around here, Ania!"

"I am not!" Ania roared, taking a step toward Finn and pointing a finger at his chest. "Don't you dare call me that!" Startled by her reaction, Finn's eyes widened a fraction as he backed away from her. Regaining her cool, Ania lowered her finger and looked away. "I'm sorry, that was wrong of me," she murmured, a blush spreading across her cheeks as embarrassment replaced her indignation.

"That's okay," Finn said woodenly, his brow furrowed as he looked her over with a concerned expression.

"There's a lot you don't know about me, okay?" Ania told him. "I know I'm entitled, but it wasn't always this way."

"How do you mean?" Finn asked curiously.

Ania hesitated. The truth hanged on her lips, yet she wasn't brave enough to let it out. Instead she sealed them shut and shook her head. "I don't want to talk about it," she said, her voice gruff.

Finn frowned yet didn't seem willing to pursue the issue further. An awkward moment passed as the two realized they didn't know what to say to each other. They were saved, however, when a buzzing sound caused them both to swivel their heads toward the desk against the opposite wall.

"You should probably go," Ania said as she made her way over to the desk. "My mom could be back from the bridge any moment now."

"Oh, um… yeah, okay," Finn said, tapping his foot rapidly against the ground. "I'll, uh… I'll see you around, I guess."

Ania nodded as she reached down to and picked up the vibrating holoprojector as subtly as she could. Holding it behind her back, she leaned against the desk and gave Finn a nod. "We'll give it another go tomorrow," she said. "You'll get there eventually, I promise."

Finn considered her for a moment longer before turning around and departing without another word. Ania waited for the door to close behind him before activating the holoprojector and placing it back down on the desk. Taking a seat on her mother's austere metal chair, she smiled broadly when she saw her brother's hologram get projected in front of her. Her enthusiasm faded considerably, however, when she saw his surly expression.

"Ben?" she said. "What's wrong?"

"_Where's Mom?_" he asked, disregarding her question.

"On the bridge, I think," she told him. "What happened?"

"_I'll tell you when I get back,_" Ben said, refusing to make eye contact with her. Ania pursed her lips and considered asking the next question, but ultimately thought better of it. It was abundantly clear that Luke wasn't with him; Ben had failed.

"I've missed you," she decided to say instead. "Things have been getting hectic lately."

"_Hectic how?_" Ben asked, although he didn't sound particularly interested.

Ania hesitated, realizing that Ben wasn't in the mood to listen to her frustrations which he no doubt would consider insignificant in relation to his own. "I'll tell you when you get back," she said therefore, her voice heavy with disappointment.

Ben's eyes darted back to meet hers and for a moment neither said anything as they looked at each other. Ania loved talking with her brother because he was exceptionally adept at empathizing with her, especially in contrast to how unforgiving her mother could sometimes be. She could attribute Ben's knack for comforting her to the strength of their metaphysical bond, but she also knew that there was more to it than that: Her brother was a uniquely compassionate individual. Leia said he had inherited his solicitous disposition from his grandmother, but Ania would never know if that was true or not. All she knew was that Ben was a wonderful human being whom she strived to emulate as best she could.

Recently, however, she had sensed a rift forming between them and she didn't know why that might be. Communicating with Ben via hologram wasn't nearly as rewarding as talking to him in person. She couldn't quite explain what was amiss, but there was something off nonetheless. It was as if their natural connection wasn't present. Since they were so far apart from one another physically, Ania couldn't feel what he felt, and the same was probably true for Ben. They were aloof from one another, unable to bond in the way they had become so used to doing. Perhaps her mother could relate to Ania's predicament. After all, Luke was her best friend just like Ben was Ania's. No doubt she was experiencing a comparable hardship only on a much larger scale since she and Luke had been separated for three whole years.

"I, uh… it's pretty late here," Ania lied after a minute of silence. "I should go to bed."

"_Yeah, I should get some rest too,_" Ben said with a nod.

Ania nodded as well as she stared back at her brother unblinkingly. Perhaps disconcerted by her expression, Ben arched an eyebrow at her. "Sorry, I'm just tired," she said, producing an artificial yawn for emphasis. "Goodnight, Ben."

"_Goodnight, Ania. I love you._"

Ania froze, her arm outstretched to turn off the device. Looking back up at the projection, Ania smiled at her brother. "Love you too, Ben," she said shyly.

Ben reciprocated her smile, although it didn't quite reach his weary eyes. It seemed he unlike her had been truthful about his need to get some sleep. She was contemplating the bags under his eyes when the feed cut out. Ania blinked a few times, her eyes still focused on an image which was no longer in front of her. Shaking her head and rubbing her temples, Ania pushed out the chair and stood up with a sigh.

Unsure of what to do with herself, Ania resorted to pacing back and forth as she awaited her mother's return from the bridge. After fifteen minutes of this, however, Ania began to feel dizzy so she stopped. She blew out of her mouth at a stray strand of hair which was tickling her nose. Shutting her eyes, she placed her hands on her hips and exhaled loudly.

Her boredom was finally interrupted when she heard the door in front of her slide open. Opening her eyes, Ania saw her mother striding into her quarters. She seemed especially harried this evening and she didn't even acknowledge Ania's presence as she walked over toward her desk.

"How are things on the bridge?" Ania asked eagerly as she followed after her taciturn mother.

Leia glanced up at her as she set down a manila folder on the surface of the desk. "Fine," she said before taking a seat and opening the folder. Undeterred by this laconic response, Ania rose up on her toes, hoping to get a glance at what it was her mother was reading. Taking note of the shadow looming over the paper, Leia craned her head up toward Ania.

"What are you doing?" she asked with a frown.

"Whatcha reading?" Ania asked, countering her mother's frown with a lopsided smile.

Quirking an eyebrow, Leia dropped the folder and pushed it away. Pulling her chair out, she rotated it ninety degrees so she didn't have to twist her back to look at her. "An intelligence briefing," she said.

"I see that," Ania said playfully. "What's up with the folder? Why not use a holopad?"

"Top secret intel is always submitted in hard copies for security purposes," Leia explained as she clasped her hands together on top of her lap and leaned back in her chair. She winced a bit as she stretched out her legs, flexing her foot up and down as her ankles popped and groaned. "Why are you so interested in this?" she asked upon setting her feet back down on the ground.

"Just curious, that's all," Ania said.

Leia narrowed her eyes as she scrutinized Ania's face with uncanny intensity. Ania had grown used to this by now, however. No longer did she feel uncomfortable when her mother eyed her intently like this.

"You're bored," she commented after thirty seconds of scrutiny. The statement wasn't a question; Leia Skywalker never asked a question she knew the answer to.

"How can I not be? I never have anything to do!" Ania complained, knowing better than to lie.

"I gave you a Padawan. Is that not enough for you?" Leia asked, brow furrowed.

"There's only so much I can do," Ania said. "Finn can't even identify the Force yet. If he can't do that, what type of training can I even have him do?"

"What do you mean he can't identify the Force?" Leia asked.

"I don't even know," Ania bemoaned as she spun on her heel and began to pace. "I tell him to concentrate on the energy around him but he says he doesn't know what he wants me to do! It's so frustrating!" Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her mother smirking at her. "What?" Ania asked, coming to a stop as she crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Do you think this is funny?"

"Funny? No, not at all," Leia said, dismissing the accusation with a wave of a hand.

"Then why –"

"I gave you this assignment so you could appreciate the frustrations I have to deal with on a daily basis," Leia interrupted.

"But I didn't give you this problem!" Ania insisted. "I never had any trouble accessing the Force and neither did Ben."

"You and Ben are more naturally attuned to the Force than Finn is," Leia said. "That doesn't mean you can't be immensely irritating in other ways, however."

Ania huffed in indignation as she resumed pacing. "I was never _this_ annoying," she said. Her mother muttered something under breath, but Ania continued on without listening. "He's got such an inferiority complex!" she exclaimed. "It's like he _wants _to fail. He expects it."

"And you attribute that shortcoming to your Padawan and not to yourself?" Leia inquired.

"How is that my fault?" Ania asked. "He's the one standing in his way, not me!"

"It's difficult, isn't it?" her mother said as she reached across the desk and scooped the intelligence briefing back up. "Luke was just like that when I was training him all those years ago. He refused to believe in himself even when I told him he was making incredible progress. I suppose he had a difficult time reconciling the fact that he and I shared the same intrinsic power, yet I was far more adept at using it than he was because of all the training I had."

Ania slowed down her pacing as she tilted her head curiously. Leia didn't talk about Luke very much, so Ania's interest was always piqued at the mention of the uncle she knew so little about. "So what did you do?" she asked. "Clearly he got past that, right? I mean, he became a Jedi Master just like you."

Leia's eyes glazed over as she stared blankly at her lap. Ania watched her closely and waited for a long while before she finally answered. "I'm not sure he ever got past it," she sighed. Ania frowned, unsure how to react to this statement. "He's not coming back, Ania," Leia said, her eyes refocusing as she looked up at her. "If Ben hasn't given up hope by now, he soon will."

At the mention of Ben, Ania suddenly remembered the conversation she had just had with her brother. "Ben contacted me a few minutes ago," she told her mother.

"And?" she asked, her flat tone evincing her lack of anticipation.

Ania shrugged as she completed another lap. "He's coming back," she said. "He didn't tell me what happened, but he didn't look happy."

Leia bowed her head in dejection. "I hope he doesn't blame himself for this," she said.

"I don't think he will," Ania said. "He blames Luke for everything and anything. He's really unfair to him." Leia didn't respond to this, shaking her head slowly as she flipped open the folder. "None of this is Luke's fault," Ania campaigned, suddenly concerned that Leia might be sharing Ben's sentiments. "Sidious is the one to blame, not him."

Leia squinted down at the report in front of her before growling to herself. She looked around for a few moments before rolling her eyes and holding the report at arm's length.

"Mom?" Ania asked. "Are you listening to me?"

Leia tilted her head back a bit as she scanned the report. "Interesting," she mused as she lowered the report back down to her lap.

"What is?" Ania asked.

"Read that for me, would you?" Leia asked, tossing the report up to her. Ania fumbled the folder for a moment before grasping it with her left hand.

"Um… what part?" Ania asked as she looked down at the text.

"From the start," Leia said.

"I… why can't you read it?" Ania said, suddenly feeling quite anxious. Ania hated reading. She didn't want to make a fool of herself in front of her mother.

"Can't find my glasses," Leia grumbled as she opened drawer after drawer of her desk to no avail.

"Since when did you wear glasses?" Ania asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Since when did you not do as you were told?" Leia shot back. "Just read it, would you?"

Ania gulped and nodded. She stared at the first word for a long while as she attempted to discern the calligraphic Aurebesh. Why did they have to use _this _font? The letters all seemed to merge together as they swam in front of her vision in an incomprehensible mess.

"It, um… it says…"

"Yes?" Leia prompted when Ania trailed off.

Ania's voice caught in her throat as panic washed over her. The first word said… it said…

"I… I can't," she finally confessed. "I can't read it."

"What do you mean you can't read it?" her mother asked, looking up sharply and giving her a perplexed look.

Floundering, Ania's mouth opened and closed several times like a fish before she shut the folder and placed it behind her back. "I mean I won't. I won't read it until we've finished talking about this," she resorted on saying.

"Talking about what? About Luke?" Leia asked. "I fail to see how there is anything to discuss."

"Yes there is," Ania insisted, desperate to swing the conversation away from the report behind her back. "We need his help. _You _need his help."

"Is that so?" Leia asked ominously. "And you know this how?"

"Because you and I are a lot alike," Ania said without hesitation. "We both need our brothers. I'm stronger with Ben, so I know you would be too with Luke."

Leia's eyes oscillated back and forth for a few moments before she stood up out of her chair. She took a step toward Ania who only just managed to resist taking a synonymous step back. Instead, she clenched her jaw and met her mother's glare with a defiant expression.

"Tell me I'm wrong," she said brazenly.

"Give me the report, Ania," Leia demanded, extending her hand.

Ania frowned, irritated as much as she was caught off guard by how willing she was to completely disregard her question.

"Send me," Ania enjoined. "I won't fail you like Ben did. I'll bring him back, I swear.."

"Ania. The report."

Begrudgingly returning the folder from behind her back, Ania thrust it forcefully into her mother's outstretched hand. Accepting the offering, Leia returned to her seat without any further delay. Resting her left leg atop her thigh, she extended the report at arm's length once more as she squinted at the text.

"Why are you doing this?" Ania asked in exasperation. "Why pretend like you don't need anyone else's help?"

"Because I don't," Leia said absently as she continued to read the report.

"That's ridiculous! Of course you need help!"

Her mother didn't respond as she flipped over to the second page, her tongue sticking out of the corner of her mouth as she concentrated on the words in front of her.

"Interesting," Leia mumbled to herself for a second time. "Very interesting."

"Would you stop ignoring me?" Ania pleaded.

Much to Ania's surprise, her mother complied with this request as she set the report aside. "You know what, you're right," she said. "I do need help, Ania. Your help."

"My help?" Ania repeated, eyes widening.

"Yes, I need you to help me by putting an end to this pointless quest to find Luke," she said.

Aghast, Ania's mouth fell open. "But Mom!" she exclaimed. "You can't think that –"

"I do not need Luke," Leia rumbled as she stood upright. Although her mother was only a couple inches taller than her, Ania felt as if she was staring up at a giant as Leia loomed over her. "I do not require his assistance. I didn't then and I don't now. Do I make myself clear?"

"But Anakin said –"

"I don't care what he said," Leia interrupted. "I am your master, not him. My word on this matter is final. You will _not _bring up Luke again. Understand?"

Ania bit back a retort as she bowed her head to escape her mother's seething gaze. "Yes, _Master_," she said bitterly. "I understand."

* * *

The next morning, Ania was waiting in the hangar of the _Skywalker _with her mother and Finn on either side of her. The grim trio watched in silence as the Millennium Falcon flew into the hangar and came to a gentle landing a dozen feet in front of them. Amidst the clouds of exhaust, Ania saw the ramp to her father's ship unfurl, revealing Ben. Her brother met her gaze for a moment before looking to the left toward Leia.

"He's not with me," he announced, his voice flat and monotone.

"I know," Leia said. "It's not your fault, Ben. There was nothing you could have done."

Ben nodded. He exuded an air of the utmost impassivity, yet Ania wasn't fooled by the façade. She knew him too well.

"Come," Leia instructed, beckoning him down the ramp. "There's something the four of us need to discuss in my quarters."

"There is?" Ania asked, turning to look at her mother. Leia met her eyes and nodded without elaborating. Ania glanced up at Ben who had begun descending the ramp toward them before returning her attention to Leia. "Could I, um… could I talk to Ben first?" she asked. "Alone," she added when Leia frowned.

"I suppose," she said slowly. "But don't take too long. This matter is extremely important."

"I'll be quick, really," Ania assured her. "Finn, you go with my mom," she said, turning around toward her Padawan. "I'll be right behind you."

Finn looked ambivalent about the prospect of being alone with Leia, but he nevertheless complied with her request. Ben came to a stop next to Ania as the two watched Leia and Finn walk away down the hangar and toward the main hallway leading to the center of the ship.

"What's up?" Ben asked once they were out of view.

Ania was about to speak when she heard another pair of footsteps making their way down the ramp behind her. Spinning around, she saw Poe Dameron approaching with his trusty astromech droid close behind.

"Ania," Poe greeted with a strained smile. "I'm glad to see you're safe."

Ania attempted to reciprocate the pilot's smile, but was only able to produce a grimace. "Hey, Poe," she said weakly. "Good to see you too. Would you mind giving us some space?"

Poe furrowed his brow as he glanced over at Ben. "Yeah, sure," he said, taking a step back. "Come on, BB-8, let's go," he told his droid before departing. Once again, Ben and Ania watched in silence as the pilot walked off and disappeared amidst the bustle of the hangar.

"You're upset," Ben said finally as he turned to face her. It wasn't a question.

Ania chewed on her lower lip as she turned as well, arms crossed in front of her chest as she looked up at her brother's concerned expression. She nodded, unsure of how to explain what she was feeling.

Ben scrutinized her for a moment just like Leia so often did, his eyes narrowed as he inspected every aspect of her countenance. "It's Mom, isn't it?" he said finally. "What did she do this time?" he asked when Ania refused to corroborate this.

"It's not her, or at least not really," Ania said, looking away as she rubbed her arms together in the chilly hangar. "Okay, maybe it is," she amended after a moment's thought.

"What happened?" Ben asked softly.

Ania inhaled deeply before compelling herself to look back at Ben. "I just feel so… useless," she confessed in a small voice.

"Because she didn't let you go with me to find Luke?" Ben asked.

"That's part of it, I guess," Ania mumbled.

"Then what's the rest?"

Ania faltered, her chin trembling slightly as all of the frustrations which had been brewing within her over the past month came surging to the surface. "I can't do anything right anymore," she finally managed to say in a whisper.

"What do you mean?"

"Everything I do ends in failure!" she bemoaned, struggling to keep her voice hushed. "Whenever I try to be helpful, I just end up fucking it all up!"

"Ania, calm down –" Ben tried to say, but Ania cut him off as she began to unleash a tirade.

"The whole point of going to Jakku was to help Mom, but all I managed to do is stress her out. I try to make things better, but they only ever get worse! She gave me a Padawan so I'd get off her back, but I can't even do that! I'm the worst teacher in the galaxy, Ben! Finn has no idea what I'm talking about or what the point of it all is. And when I tell Mom about it, she just blames me for not putting in enough effort. But there's nothing else I can do! I can't just make him understand the Force! It doesn't work like that! So I try to help Mom out in other ways, and I can't even do that! She wanted me to read some document, and I couldn't! I couldn't do it, Ben! I'm so useless, I can't even read some stupid intel report. I can't… I can't…"

"Ania! Ania stop!" Ben finally managed to interject, placing his hands on her trembling shoulders as she began to hyperventilate. "Breathe, just breathe," he instructed.

Ania did as he said, closing her eyes as she slowed her breathing and felt oxygen returning to her lungs. All the while, Ben kept his hands on her shoulders, grounding her as she regained control over herself. After about a minute, she opened her eyes and looked up at Ben. "I feel so alone, Ben," she told him, eyes shining with unshed tears. "And lately, it feels like I don't even have you anymore. You've been so distant from me, and I don't mean just physically. You don't… you don't seem to care about me anymore."

"You can't possibly think that!" Ben exclaimed, his grip on her shoulders strengthening as his whole body stiffened with indignation.

"I can't lose you like Mom lost Luke," Ania said desperately. "Ben, I need you!"

"And you have me," Ben insisted. "What makes you think that you don't?"

"Ever since you l-left to find Luke, it's been as if you n-never want to talk to me," Ania stammered, her voice warbling as her chin continued to tremble. "Whenever you called, you only ever wanted to talk to Mom. And whenever I try to talk to you, you just seem like… like you're disinterested. Like you'd rather be listening to anyone else. Like I don't even matter."

"Ania, that's not true," Ben said the moment she stopped talking. "Of course you matter to me. More than anyone. More than anything."

"Y-you're just saying that," Ania said, feebly punching him in the chest with the side of her fist. "You're lying."

"I'd never lie about that, Ania," Ben said as she half-heartedly attempted to push him away. "Don't be ridiculous." Ania's body went limp as she fell into her brother's chest, her face contorted and writhen as she sunk into his embrace . "I'm here for you," Ben whispered into her ear as he placed a hand on the back of her head. "I'll always be here for you. You know that."

"I… I know," she whimpered, shutting her eyes tight as she refused to allow her tears to escape. She wouldn't lose whatever modicum of composure she had. Not again.

"I feel what you feel, Ania," Ben told her, caressing her hair gently as he rocked them back and forth. "I know what you're going through. You're not alone. As long as we have each other, you'll never be alone."

She wanted to believe that. She _needed _to believe that.

But she didn't know if she did.


	32. My Luke

Chapter 32 – My Luke

His mother frowned at him the moment he opened the door and stepped into her quarters. Nearly a half hour had passed since she had departed the hangar with the assurance that he and Ania wouldn't be taking long. She opened her mouth to reprimand him, yet stopped herself when Ania followed in behind him. Her eyes darted to her daughter as the door swiftly closed itself behind her. Stepping aside, Ben glanced over at Ania as well.

It was plenty obvious that she had been crying – her bloodshot eyes betraying that fact beyond a shadow of a doubt. Ben pursed his lips as he looked back and forth between mother and daughter, waiting for someone to speak. Much to his surprise, it was Ania who finally broke the silence.

"I'm sorry we took so long," she said in a small voice, seemingly unable to meet her mother's eyes as she looked down at the floor. "We were, um… well it doesn't really matter, I guess."

Leia blinked a few times before nodding. "That's alright," she said woodenly. She hesitated, lips parted as if she wanted to say something, but no words came out. Finally she turned away toward her desk which Finn was leaning against, aloof from the three of them. "Excuse me, Finn," Leia mumbled to the former stormtrooper who hastily got out of her way. Reaching down to the desk, she slid a manila folder across the surface before scooping it up and turning back toward them.

"What's that?" Ben asked, desperate to ameliorate some of the tension in the room.

"This is an intelligence briefing," his mother told him. At once, Ben glanced over at Ania. This no doubt was the same briefing she had been talking about earlier. The one she hadn't been able to read.

"What's it about?" Ben asked, unable to tear his eyes away from Ania who was chewing her lower lip and continuing to stare steadfastly at her shoes.

"The Death Star," Leia said. Her tone was flat, devoid of any of the distaste he would have anticipated.

"So it's confirmed?" he asked, attempting to replicate her impassivity. "That's what destroyed Chandrila?"

"Seems like it," Leia said as she looked back down at the report. "Finn, you wouldn't happen to know anything about this, would you?" she asked suddenly, sparing a glance to the man before returning her attention to the report.

"No, not at all," Finn said quickly. "They don't tell stormtroopers anything."

"Not surprising," Leia grumbled as she squinted down at the page. "Even so, it's a miracle they've managed to keep this project hidden for as long as they have. Something of this scale is going to attract attention. Their counterintelligence operations must be state of the art. Far superior to our own, I'd reckon."

Ben arched an eyebrow at this compliment. "So how did we find out about it now?" Ben asked.

"The destruction of Chandrila must have served as a real wake up call to our intelligence branch," Leia said as she set the report aside with a scowl. "We'd never have been in this situation if those slackers had been under my authority rather than the Senate's. Nothing ever gets done in the Senate."

"I don't think it's a matter of effort, but a matter of funding," Ben provided, causing Leia to look up at him skeptically. "I used to run the CIH, remember? The second they voted me out, Chamylle slashed intelligence funding and put a gag on proposing any increases in military expenditure of any kind."

"All the more reason to rejoice that that woman is out of the picture," Leia growled. Startled by this mordant remark, Ben instinctively glanced over at Ania yet found that she hadn't been as surprised as he had been. On the contrary, it seemed as if hadn't registered the comment at all.

Leia followed his gaze to Ania and hesitated for a moment longer before resuming. "Either way, intelligence has been picking up the slack in the past few weeks," she said. "Apparently a cargo freighter had just left Chandrila's atmosphere when the Death Star arrived in the system. The pilots were able to give us a rough idea of the scale of this thing."

"And?" Ben pressed. "What did they say?"

"Said it was huge," Leia said with a shrug. "Bigger than anything they'd ever seen. Keep in mind these guys probably haven't seen a space station any bigger than a refueling port, but this is the best testament we have. Apparently it's still under construction too. They said most of it was still covered in scaffolding and much of the superstructure hasn't even been completed yet."

"Well that's good news, isn't it?" Ben said. "Maybe it'll be easier to destroy that way."

"Maybe," Leia said as she rested her hands on the desk behind her and leaned against the edge. "The major concern, however, is that the superlaser is operational. The superstructure may be incomplete, but the weapon can be used to devastating effect already."

"So how do we destroy this thing?" Finn asked, surprising Ben who hadn't expected the young man to be bold enough to insert himself into the conversation. Perhaps he was growing more comfortable around them.

"Well that's the question, isn't it?" Leia said, nodding encouragingly toward Finn. "According to this report, the person in charge of the construction of this station – a man by the name of Jerjerrod – fears that the strike on Chandrila inflicted massive structural damage on the Death Star's superstructure and superlaser which, should they be asked to fire for a second time, may cause a chain reaction which would destroy the entire station."

"Wait a minute, how do we know all that?" Ben asked, holding a hand up.

"I told you, intelligence has been stepping up big time for us," Leia said. "They somehow managed to intercept a First Order transmission from Eriadu in which Jerjerrod expressed his misgivings with the order to open fire on Chandrila. Apparently Jerjerrod feared such damage could happen, but your old friend Armitage Hux disregarded his qualms and forced him to do it anyway."

"So what are you saying? That all we need to do is get them to fire the laser once and the whole station will go?"

"Perhaps, but it's far from conclusive," Leia said. "When I damaged one of the crystal arrays on the original Death Star, all it did was deactivate the laser for a few weeks. No, we have to be much more proactive."

"Wait, you did what?" Ben asked, but Leia moved on without answering him.

"My plan is that the three of us get onto the Death Star somehow and inflict as much damage as we can on those arrays without anyone noticing," she said, pushing herself away from the desk as she began to pace in the center of the room. "While we're doing this, I'll have Dune and Ackbar launch a strike on the Death Star with as many capital ships as we can muster. The idea is that Jerjerrod will feel forced to use the superlaser to defend himself, and when he does, the whole station will explode."

Ben gulped nervously at this. "But wouldn't we still be inside?" he asked.

"Ideally no," Leia said. "If we're quick, we can be in and out in half an hour."

"A half hour?" Ben repeated skeptically. "That seems ambitious. How many of these crystal arrays are there, anyway?"

"Four," Leia said.

Ben snorted humorlessly at this. "Of course," he said, shaking his head. "It sure would help to have another member in this crew, wouldn't it?"

"I can do it," Finn said eagerly.

"Absolutely not," Leia said at once. "This mission is far too dangerous for you, Finn."

"I want to do it," Finn insisted. "I need to. I need revenge."

"Revenge is not the Jedi way, Finn," Ben chastised with a frown.

"You told me yourself, Master Skywalker," Finn said to Leia. "I need a purpose, don't I? This can be my purpose!"

"First off, I didn't say that, you did," Leia corrected him. "Secondly, this is first and foremost a stealth operation. If any one member of the crew is caught, the whole mission goes up in smoke. I appreciate your enthusiasm, Finn, but you're simply not ready for this."

"But I am!" Finn exclaimed. "I'm a Stormtrooper! Give me a set of armor, and I'll blend right in. I'll be able to get you in and out."

Ben and Leia shared a look as they considered this proposal. "Perhaps," Leia said after a moment's deliberation. "I will consider this, Finn. Keep in mind, however, this entire operation is purely hypothetical considering we don't even know where the Death Star is. Until we uncover its location, I want you to be training with Ania."

At the mention of Ania, the three of them all looked over at the silent fourth member of this conversation. She didn't seem to notice, her head still bowed as she tapped her foot anxiously against the ground.

"Ania?" Ben said gently. "Do you, um… do you have anything to say?"

His sister finally looked up, her eyes distant as she stared blankly up at him. "I'm tired," she said flatly, completely disregarding his question. Turning to her mother, Ania blinked a few times as she refocused her eyes. "Do you mind if I sleep here?" she asked Leia. "My room… it's just so far away."

Leia took a few moments before answering, her expression full of concern as she pursed her lips and furrowed her brow. "Of course," she said finally. "Sleep well."

The three of them shared furtive glances with one another as Ania drifted away toward the door to her mother's bedroom and slipped inside. For a while, none of them said anything – Ben's gaze fixated on the door which Ania had closed shut behind her.

"Come with me," Leia finally said in a whisper. Finn and Ben followed without question as Leia led them out of her quarters. "What is going on with her?" she asked once they had all congregated in the hallway. "It's like she wasn't listening to a word I said."

"She's been on edge all week," Finn said as he crossed his arms and frowned. "I think she's upset with me. I'm not doing as well as I should with the training."

"No, Finn, this isn't your fault," Ben said with a shake of his head. "I don't know what is going on exactly, but there isn't one singular person to blame."

"What was it she wanted to talk to you about in the hangar?" Leia asked him.

Ben exhaled loudly out his mouth as he glanced around surreptitiously around the hallway. "She kind of had a break down," he told her, choosing not to go into the specifics. "She said she feels like she's useless and that everything she does ends in failure."

"I see," Leia said as she glanced over at the entrance to her quarters. "Why do you think she had to say this to you?" she asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Why not me? She's never felt uncomfortable confiding in me before." When Ben hesitated, she narrowed her eyes and continued talking. "That would suggest to me one of two things. One, she is upset with me and doesn't want to talk to me, or two, she is upset with you and you are not being truthful about the nature of your conversation with her." Caught off guard by this accurate analysis, Ben floundered for a few moments as he thought of how best to respond. "Please don't lie to me, Ben," Leia implored him. "You know I can see right through you."

"Fine, you're right," Ben said with a hint of bitterness.

"On which account?" Leia asked.

"On both."

"Both?"

"You heard me."

Visibly displeased by his impudence, Leia glowered back at him for a few seconds before turning to Finn. "Would you mind giving us a moment?" she asked of him. "You can wait inside my quarters."

Finn glanced at Ben before nodding. "Yeah, sure," he said, hastily backing away from the two indomitable Skywalkers.

Once Finn had left, Leia took a step nearer toward him. "Tell me what happened," she instructed. "I want to know everything."

Ben sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. "Look, most of this is just conjecture since she wasn't particularly cogent," he prefaced. "But from what I can gather, she feels like neither of us care about her anymore because of how busy we've been with other things."

"That's preposterous!" Leia exclaimed, her incredulity synonymous to the one he had experienced a little while earlier when Ania had first expressed this sentiment.

"Believe me, I know," Ben concurred. "Nevertheless, I think we do need to do a better job devoting ourselves to her. She's a remarkably fragile person, after all."

"I know that, Ben, but how am I supposed to do that when I've got a war to conduct?" his mother asked him. "I try to be there for her, but there's only so much time I can spend away from the bridge."

"It's not a question of how much time you spend with her, but of how you treat her when you do get a chance to be with her," Ben said cautiously.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Leia asked sharply.

"You've been too harsh on her, Mom," Ben said, doing his best not to sound confrontational.

"How so?" she asked.

"She said you blamed her for Finn's lack of progress."

"I did no such thing," Leia insisted at once.

"And then there's this whole business of the intelligence report," he continued without addressing her dismissal of the accusation.

"The intelligence report? What are you talking about?"

"You asked her to read something for you? Why would you do that, Mom? Don't you know that's a terrible idea?" Ben rolled his eyes when Leia appeared to be utterly bewildered by this. "You don't know, do you?"

"Know what?" she asked.

"Ania's dyslexic," Ben told her. "Or at least it seems that way. She's too proud to admit it, but it seems pretty obvious to me that she is."

"Dyslexic?" Leia repeated.

"Look, how about you just… I don't know, back off a little bit. Let me deal with this, alright?"

"Oh, because you're so much better than me?" Leia asked haughtily.

"I didn't say that –"

"She's upset with you too, isn't she?" Leia interrupted. "Why is that?"

Ben looked away, vexed by how defensive his mother could get at even the subtlest suggestion that she had done something wrong. "I don't even know," he sighed. "She claimed that I didn't ever want to talk to her when I was on Ahch-To."

"And why would that be?"

"I told you, I don't know!" he exclaimed.

"Oh, I think you do," Leia said in a low voice. "I can feel it, Ben. I know you're hiding something from me." Exasperated by her seemingly infallible perceptiveness, Ben threw his hands up in the air and turned his back on her as he paced away a few steps. "There's little point in keeping this from me," she called after him. "I will find out sooner or later."

"Oh yeah?" Ben asked, spinning around sharply. "What are you going to do? Reach into my mind and pull it out like Sidious taught you?"

"If need be," Leia growled, taking a step toward him and pointing a finger at his chest. Having not expected an affirmative to his challenge, Ben gulped nervously as he met his mother's dark eyes. "Tell me, Ben," she demanded one last time. "What are you hiding from me?"

Ben shook his head as he began backing away from his mother. "This doesn't concern you," he said. "Nor Ania, for that matter." With that, he turned around and made to storm away down the hallway.

"It's the girl, isn't it?" Leia asked, causing him to stop in his tracks. "You've been in contact with her, haven't you?" Ben froze with his back still facing her. His face blanched in fear and his silence no doubt confirmed his mother's suspicions. "How?" she asked, a steely edge to her voice.

"I didn't contact her, if that's what you're thinking," Ben said, deciding that it would be futile to try and deny it.

"Look at me, Ben," his mother demanded. Ben clenched his jaw and begrudgingly complied with the request, slowly turning around to face her once again. "Tell me how it happened."

"I don't know," Ben said honestly. "She just showed up."

"Just showed up?" Leia repeated, frowning.

"I was in the main hold of the Falcon all by myself and then she just appeared," he told her. "Neither of us can explain it." Bewildered, Leia merely stared back at him blankly for a few moments, so Ben decided to continue on. "It's not like we're physically near each other when it happens, more like… spiritually, I guess."

"This has happened more than once?" Leia asked.

"Three times so far," Ben admitted freely.

"And you didn't think it necessary to tell me until now?" she asked.

"Because I knew you'd freak out if I did!" Ben defended himself.

"This is serious, Ben," Leia rumbled. "When something like this happens, I _need _to know about it."

"Why would I tell you? I know what you'd say. You'd try to stop me from talking to her!"

"Because she's dangerous!"

"She's not dangerous, she's innocent!"

"How can you say that?" Leia asked, eyes manically wide. "She tortured your sister!"

"Can you really blame her for that?"

Stunned, Leia's mouth fell open as she seethed at him with a murderous look in her eyes. "Say that again," she said.

"Rey's not a bad person," Ben insisted. "She's a good person whose had terrible things happen to her."

"I don't care!" Leia exploded. "She hurt my daughter!"

"Whatever happened to forgiveness?" Ben asked, refusing to shy away in the face of his mother's wrath. "Isn't that supposed to be the Skywalker way?"

"Not toward her! Not toward Sidious!"

"She isn't like Sidious!"

"How do you know that? For all you know, Sidious is the one behind this!"

"Behind what?"

"Connecting you two." Ben blinked once as he considered this. He had never thought that some_one _might have been responsible for their connection; he had always just assumed that it had been some_thing_ which had done so: the Force. Now that he thought about it, however, this assumption didn't make any sense. The Force didn't work that way; it never made conscious decisions like that. "You're far too trusting, Ben," his mother reprimanded. "You don't understand Sidious like I do. He is a master manipulator. If he found out about your relationship with Rey, he would seek to take advantage of it in any way he can."

"No, that… that can't be –"

"Your first priority should always be to your actual sister," Leia interrupted him. "I understand why you sympathize with Rey, but you cannot do that at the expense of Ania. And don't you tell me that they're both your sister, because they're not," she added before Ben could interject. "Ania is family. Rey is not. It is as simple as that."

While Ben fundamentally disagreed, he knew better than to engage his mother on this point. "What would you have me do, Mom?" he asked instead. "It's not like I can shut her out. I don't even know how we're communicating in the first place."

"Don't engage with her if it happens again," she instructed. "And contact me right away. Maybe I'll be able to shut it down if it is indeed Sidious who is responsible."

Ben nodded despite knowing that there was no chance he would do this. Sidious wasn't responsible for this. Ben couldn't explain why he knew this, but he knew it to be true. There was nothing malicious about his interactions with Rey. Instead, he viewed them as an opportunity to save his other sister from Sidious' corruptive influence.

He would not renege on his vow to his father: Ben would do anything in his power to protect Rey – including defying the will of Vitrius herself if need be.

* * *

A ray of sunlight caressed Luke's cheek, tendrils of warmth trailing down his skin as he turned his head toward the pleasant sensation. Sighing contentedly, he languidly opened his eyes to find himself in bed back in his hut, a woolen blanket draped over his sleeping figure. How had he gotten here? He remembered fighting with Ben and soon thereafter with Vader amidst a torrential downpour. He had been furious, incensed by the spurious accusations both his nephew and father hurled upon him. Never before had Luke experienced rage on that scale, perhaps with the sole exception being after his mother had died on Yavin. He had lost control then just like he had lost control last night. That scared him. It perturbed him how violent he could become without hardly any provocation. It terrified him to know how alike he and his father really were…

Tearing off the blanket, Luke swung his legs off the bed with a groan. Looking down, he saw that he was wearing a different set of robes – this one warm and soft unlike the previous pair which was no doubt sopping wet and sullied with mud and blood. At this thought, Luke suddenly realized that he wasn't injured. Patting himself down, Luke's incredulity soared as he thought back to the last night. Vader had thrown him around like a ragdoll on multiple occasions, had he not? How could it be Luke felt totally fine? Not only was he completely fine, he felt better than he had in a long time. No longer was he afflicted with the quotidian bodily aches and pains associated with middle age. Instead he felt… buoyant.

Floating to his feet, Luke drifted over toward the door of his hut where he found his boots – again, remarkably clean and unsoiled by any of the grime from last night. Slipping them on, Luke kneeled down to tie the laces before pulling the door open. Stepping outside, he immediately held a hand to his eyes when he was confronted with a brilliant morning light. Taking a few moments for his pupils to adjust, Luke tentatively stepped out of the hut. Without bothering to close the door behind him, he began strolling down the hill, his boots sinking slightly in the waterlogged ground beneath his feet.

Upon reaching the village, Luke sauntered down the cobble-stone path with a lazy smile on his face. He paused briefly to note the damage done to some of the huts, confirming that he hadn't imagined the events of last night. The caretakers sure would be angry with him when they saw what happened. Chuckling at the thought, Luke turned away from the injured stone hut. He froze, however, when he saw a shimmering figure standing at the top of the opposite hill – the blue tinge of the ghost fading against the backdrop of the sky behind it.

"You!" Luke roared. Storming down the path, Luke took off running when he reached the edge of the village and began making his way up the hill toward Vader. "You can't be here!" he yelled. "I got rid of you!"

Vader looked down at his flustered son with an infuriating smirk. "_I beg to differ,_" he said before turning his back on Luke and peering off toward the horizon.

Grumbling to himself, Luke trudged forward a few more steps before coming to his father's side. Vader glanced at him out of the corner of his eye before returning his attention to the yellow and orange suns which dominated the sky above. "So what is your plan, exactly?" Luke asked as he too squinted at the sunrise. "Haunt me until the day I die?"

"_I'm not haunting you, Luke_," Vader told him in a conspicuously mellow voice which contrasted starkly with the bellicose tone from the night prior.

"Oh yeah? Then what would you call this exactly?" Luke asked with a frown.

"_Motivation,_" Vader said without a moment's consideration.

Luke snorted derisively and shook his head. "Yeah, well the only motivation you're giving me is to get rid of you," he said.

Vader bowed his head and sighed heavily. Intrigued by this reaction, Luke looked away from the sunrise to inspect his father's ghost closely. "_Do you remember what I said to you on the Death Star?_" he asked suddenly, raising his head to meet Luke's probing gaze.

Furrowing his brow, Luke inclined his chin and gave Vader a curious look. "You said a great many things to me that day," he said with a clenched jaw.

"_Perhaps,_" Vader conceded with a rueful shrug. "_And I do apologize for that. But there were just two things I told you as your father. As Anakin Skywalker, not as Darth Vader. Do you remember what they were?_"

Of course Luke did, but he didn't want to give Vader the satisfaction that Luke recognized him as that man. To Luke, Anakin Skywalker was nothing more than a concept; in theory, he knew he must have existed at some point, but the man whom he knew to be his father had always been Vader to him, and he always would be. Nothing he did could ever alter that perception.

"_I asked you to forgive me and to look after your sister for me after I was gone,_" Vader said after a full minute of silence when it became clear that Luke wasn't going to speak. "_Perhaps it was wrong of me to ask this of you. Nevertheless, I felt as if I had to. I wronged you, Luke. I wronged everyone in this family to varying degrees, but you especially. I failed my duty as your father and the guilt of that failure remains with me to this day._"

"As it should," Luke growled, refusing to be swayed by Vader's heartfelt contrition.

"_I try, Luke. Surely, you know that. Ever since that day, I've tried to amend my wrongs. You just won't let me._"

"Won't let you do what, exactly?" Luke asked. "What is it you think you can do for me? I'm not a kid anymore. I don't need you anymore."

"_Do you really think that? That you don't need a father?_"

Luke pursed his lips and shook his head. "I don't need _you _as my father," he said.

"_Well, it seems you're stuck with me,_" Vader said – the intended humor hampered by the hurt in his voice. Not wanting to feel guilty, Luke bit down on his tongue and looked away. "_I protect you, Luke. You may not appreciate it, but that's what I will always do for you and for Leia._"

"What about for Mom?" Luke was unable to stop himself from asking. "Why weren't you able to do that for her? Why did you just let her die?" Vader didn't respond, his eyes boring into the side of Luke's head as he stared at him silently. Swallowing hard, Luke made himself turn toward his father's gaze. "Why didn't you stop it?" he asked, an involuntary tremor permeating his voice. "Why didn't you save her?"

Vader remained silent, the blank expression on his face unnerving Luke. After nearly a full minute of tension, Vader finally spoke. "_Who said I didn't?_" he said, eyes glinting mischievously in the sunlight.

A mixture of indignation and confusion rendered Luke momentarily speechless. "What are you talking –" he began to ask before a voice to his right stopped him in his tracks.

"_Luke._"

Mouth hanging open, Luke was unable to move as he continued to stare blankly at his father's ghost. That voice… he must have misheard… surely it wasn't…

"_Luke,_" it said again, gentle yet insistent. "_Look at me._"

As if broken out of an enchantment, Luke regained control over his limbs. Inhaling shakily, he slowly turned away from his father and toward the impossible.

She smiled broadly when their eyes met, her vibrant brown ones sparkling with affection as she looked back at his incredulous blue ones.

"Mom," he whispered hoarsely, unable to believe what he was seeing.

Somehow, her smile managed to broaden even further. "_My son,_" she said, the mellifluous sound of her long-lost voice stunning him to his core. "_My Luke._"

Padmé Amidala had returned.


	33. Mending Wounds

Chapter 33 – Mending Wounds

The gentle bluster of the wind and the distant chirping of seagulls provided the only disruptions to the silence as Luke stared back at his mother with wide, unbelieving eyes. While the woman in front of him was undoubtedly Padmé Amidala, she didn't look like any version of his mother he remembered. She was young – far younger than the first time they had met on the Death Star when he had been eighteen years old. Her skin fair and unblemished, her hair rich and voluminous, and her eyes sparkling with youthful vigor – he could scarcely imagine a more beautiful person.

She glanced over at Vader with an amused expression before returning her attention to him. "_I'm not sure how I feel about the beard, Luke,_" she told him as she took a few steps up the hill so that they could be on the same footing. Luke stiffened as she extended a hand toward his chin. Her fingers ran through his unkempt silver and grey beard as she inspected it with a frown. "_It doesn't suit you,_" she concluded after a few moments of deliberation. "_It hides your face too much._"

"You're not real," Luke was finally able to say, although his voice was no louder than a whisper. "You died."

"_So did I,_" Vader pointed out. "_Twice, actually._"

"But you're you," Luke said without looking at his father. "Mom, you're not…you can't be."

Padmé's smile faded as she raised her hand toward his cheek. Luke instinctively leaned into her touch, yet he was disheartened to find that he registered no sensation when her fingers brushed against his skin. "_Do you remember the first thing you ever said to me?_" she asked.

Perplexed by this question, Luke faltered for a few moments before finding his voice. "The first…? Of course I do," he said haltingly. His mother nodded, beckoning him to say it. "I said… well I think I said something stupid about the stormtrooper armor I was wearing, actually."

Padmé rolled her eyes as she lowered her hand from his face and crossed her arms. "_After that, Luke,_" she said.

Luke smiled ruefully before obliging. "I said that I was your son and that I was here to rescue you," he said, his voice distant as he thought back to that day. He had felt so foolish barging into her cell and proclaiming himself to be her son despite not knowing hardly anything about her.

"_And that's what you did,_" Padmé said. "_You saved me._" Luke bowed his head and resisted the urge to bring up that it was on account to Leia's heroics that they managed to escape, not his own. "_Now it's my turn to return the favor._"

Slowly, Luke looked back up to meet his mother's gaze. "You want me to listen to Vader," he said, the despicable name causing his voice to be twisted with bitterness.

"_No, I want you to listen to me,_" Padmé said without hesitation. "_To your mother._"

Luke swallowed hard as he glanced to his right at Vader who was watching him with a furrowed brow. "_If you won't listen to her, who will you listen to?_" Vader asked him.

"She's not real!" Luke exclaimed. "You're projecting her somehow, aren't you?"

"_I am real, Luke,_" his mother insisted.

"But –"

"_I preserved her essence after she died,_" Vader interrupted. "_Your mother's ghost lives on just like mine does._"

"But how?" Luke asked.

"_She and I share a bond, Luke,_" Vader explained. "_We are intertwined much like you and Leia are. When she died, I didn't allow her life essence to disperse into the Force like it does for other people._"

"So she's connected to you?" Luke asked, suddenly feeling horrified as he turned back to his mother. "You won't let her go?"

"_I don't want him to let go,_" his mother told him reassuringly. "_I want to be with him._"

"But why?"

"_Why do you think, Luke? We love each other._"

"He's a monster!" Luke exclaimed, pointing at Vader.

"_He's my husband,_" Padmé amended. "_And he is your father. It's time you forgave him like I did and move on._"

Luke shook his head obstinately as he took a step away from his mother's ghost. Disheartened by his retreat, Padmé's face fell as she reached out toward him with both hands. "_Luke,_" she pleaded. "_Listen to me._"

"I won't do his bidding," Luke said, taking another step back. A gust of wind struck him in the back, causing his robes to whip forward and his hair to fly in front of his face. "I'm not going back!"

His mother lowered her hands and looked over at Vader who was walking over toward her side. "_You said he would listen to me,_" she said to him, her voice laced with desperation. "_You said he would listen, Ani._"

"_And he will_," Vader said assuredly. Looking up from his wife toward him, Vader inclined his chin as he stared him down. "_Defying me is one thing, but defying her? It makes no sense, Luke. You're being a coward._"

"_Anakin, stop,_" Padmé interjected, placing a hand on his arm.

"_No, he needs to hear it,_" Vader growled, shrugging off her hand. "_You're using me as an excuse to hide away on this rock,_" he said, pointing a finger directly at Luke's chest. "_If I weren't here, and it was just your mother asking this of you, would you hesitate even for a moment to listen to her?_"

Luke faltered, unsure how to respond to this. His eyes darted back and forth between his mother and father, his mouth hanging open as he sought for the words which refused to come to him.

"_Think about your sister, Luke,_" Padmé exhorted him. "_She needs you. She's always needed you._"

"I…I…"

"_And what about your niece and nephew?_" Vader asked in a far less compassionate tone. "_What are you going to tell them if Sidious returns and kills their mother? You know that's what he is going to do. He will seek revenge on Leia and attempt to enslave her children._"

"Leia won't… she can't…"

"_She can't die?_" Vader asked when he trailed off. "_I'm afraid your certainty is misguided, my son. Leia is as vulnerable as any. Without you by her side, she will not be strong enough. You know this to be true._"

"_Luke, please,_" Padmé pleaded him once again. "_Do the right thing._"

Luke's chin quivered. His mother pursed her lips and clasped her hands together as she watched him, her expression beckoning him to give in. He wanted to do it – he so desperately wanted to do this for her and only for her – but he couldn't. He simply couldn't.

"Mom, I'm so sorry," he said hoarsely. "I am a coward."

"_No, Luke, no!_" Padmé said as she rushed forward toward him, Vader staying stationary a few steps behind. "_Don't say that,_" she said as she reached out to grab his hand. Luke looked down to see that their hands were intertwined, yet he felt no sensation of it whatsoever.

"It's the truth, Mom," he said in a whisper. "I'm too afraid."

"_Afraid of what? Of Sidious?_" Luke shook his head. "_Then of what?_" Luke shut his eyes and shook his head more vigorously for a second time. "_Luke,_" his mother entreated him. "_Talk to me._"

"I can't lose her too," he admitted. "I can't lose her like I lost you."

"_But Luke, can't you see? You haven't lost me at all._"

"Yes I have!" he exclaimed, tearing his eyes open and pulling his hand away from his mother's illusionary grasp. "You're not real! You're nothing more than a memory!"

"_You will lose your sister if you stay here,_" he heard Vader say in a stern voice. "_She will most certainly fail if you don't return._"

"You don't know that," Luke mumbled.

"_But what if it does happen?_" his mother asked him. "_What if Leia dies while you stay here? How guilty would you feel then?_"

Luke craned his head to the sky in an attempt to prevent the tears which were welling up in his eyes from falling down his cheeks. Taking in several shaky breaths, Luke clawed at his collarbones as he struggled to regain his composure. "I… I can't," he whimpered, too ashamed to meet his mother's eyes. "I'm not like her. I'm not a hero. I'm a failure."

"_Not to me you're not,_" his mother told him. Sniffling, Luke wiped his eyes as he looked back at his mother's determined expression. "_To me, you'll always be my hero._ _My savior. My son._"

* * *

Rey was staring blankly at the fractured crystal array before her on the Death Star while an exuberant engineer prattled on and on about the supposedly revolutionary method he had concocted to restore the integrity of the kyber. She blinked a few times as she looked at the massive hunk of kyber from left to right. Never before had she seen so much of the precious material. How many lightsabers could she construct with this crystal alone? A hundred? Two hundred?

"Lord Ren? Lord Ren, are you listening to me?"

Rey blinked once as she remembered why she was here in the first place. "What color is this crystal?" she asked.

"Pardon?"

"The color? I can't tell with my mask on. It looks red, but I know that can't be."

A long silence ensued as Rey continued to stare straight ahead.

"Green," a voice finally provided. "The crystal is green."

"Fascinating," Rey mused to herself. "I've never seen a green crystal before."

Rey could feel the eyes of the engineers and officers on her back as she reached out to the touch the array. They were no doubt befuddled by her acute interest in the crystals. They didn't understand the sanctity of kyber like she did. Running a gloved finger along the surface of the meter-thick crystal, she came to a stop when she reached the major fissure. The crystal had nearly split in two, a few stubborn sinews of kyber all that was left keeping it together.

"By our assessment, this array has suffered the worst damage," a voice told her. "As you can see, the fragmentation is especially severe at that point. We suspect that in order to mend a fissure of this scale, we will require the importation of at least –"

The voice stopped talking abruptly when Rey held up her other hand. "There is no more kyber to be found, officer," she said. "The leftover material from the Imperial Era is all that remains."

"Well you see, it's possible that the mines on Ilum could yield some more –"

"You will speak only when I permit you to speak," Rey interrupted. "Now would be an appropriate time for you to say 'yes, sir.'"

"Yes, sir," the voice said at once in a high pitch.

"It will take generations for the reserves of kyber on Ilum to replenish," Rey said. "Extracting material now would be premature."

"But Lord Ren, how else are we –"

Rey clenched her raised hand into a fist, cutting off the insubordinate officer's question. Rey continued to stare straight ahead as she listened to the officer's strangled cries for mercy with an impassive expression. After nearly thirty seconds, she finally lowered her left hand and sent the man tumbling to the floor.

"None of you fools know anything about the material upon which this superweapon is dependent," she said. "Kyber cannot be mended with kyber, just like flesh cannot be mended with more flesh." Nobody dared speak, the tension in the air palpable as Rey brushed her hand over the gaping wound in the crystal before her. "I will heal this crystal," she whispered, the mask's modulation of her voice rendering her words incomprehensible to the men standing several feet behind her. It didn't matter, however. She didn't care about them, anyway.

Closing her eyes, Rey stretched her fingers out wide as she leaned into the crystal. She felt a warm sensation percolating up her arm and toward her hand, her own essence transferring through her veins and into the kyber itself. Slowly but surely, the wound began to heal – tissue of kyber regenerating itself and bridging the gap Hux had so foolishly inflicted upon the once cohesive crystal.

After about a minute, Rey opened her eyes with a start when she felt herself falling forward. Her arm slipped and her hand fell away as she went tumbling into the crystal. Her mask thumped heavily against the kyber before she collapsed down to her knees.

"Lord Ren! Lord Ren, are you alright?"

Rey's whole body was shaking. Raising a trembling hand to her mask, she placed it over her visor as she bowed her head.

"Lord Ren?" a voice asked cautiously.

"I'm fine," she managed to say, although the feebleness of her voice no doubt belied her words. "I… I need to rest. How many… how many more do I need to mend?"

"Three."

"Three," she repeated. "I can… I can do that. Tomorrow. I'll finish tomorrow."

"Very well, Lord Ren. Do you, um… do you need help standing?"

Rey didn't bother dignify that question with a response. Pressing her hand against the recently restored kyber, she used the crystal to stabilize her wobbly legs as she struggled back to her feet. Feeling lightheaded, she took a few moments to recompose herself before turning around. The semicircular formation of officers split as she marched toward them and out of the room. Taking a turn down the hallway and out of sight of the officers, Rey slowed her pace as she attempted to regulate her breathing.

She was crying. How it had started, she didn't know, but now that it was happening, she didn't have any way to stop it. Her vision blurred as she blindly staggered down the halls in the general direction of her private quarters. She was utterly lost and so, so afraid…

Somehow Rey found herself back in her quarters. How she had gotten there, she had no idea. When the door shut behind her, she rushed over toward her dresser and clumsily tore off her constrictive helmet. Throwing the mask away with a crash, Rey stumbled backward as she was struck with a wave of dizziness. She was hyperventilating, unable to get enough oxygen as she frantically attempted to undo the armor which was squeezing tightly around her ribcage. Her fingers were shaking too badly, however. She had been fumbling ineffectively with the breastplate for several minutes when a voice startled her so badly that she jumped in the air.

"Rey?"

Pulling out her lightsaber, she activated the blade and slashed it around wildly.

"Rey, it's me! It's Ben!"

So it was. Ben was standing a few feet away with his hands held up, the white blade which she had taken away from his despicable sister pointed at his throat. The pair froze for a moment as they looked at each other, Ben's eyes wide with apprehension whereas Rey's were swimming with tears. The silence was broken by the clattering sound of the lightsaber falling to the ground as she dropped her arm.

"Ben, I…" she began, but stopped when she realized she didn't know what to say.

"It's okay, it's okay," Ben said as he took a step toward her. "Why don't you just sit down, alright? Take a deep breath_._"

Rey did as he said, collapsing down on the bed to her left. She inhaled deeply and held it for a couple seconds before exhaling. Repeating the process a few times, she felt the tremors begin to abate as she regained control over herself.

"What happened?" Ben asked, kneeling down in front of her. Rey looked down at him, marveling at his solicitous expression and gentle compassion. "Rey, tell me what's wrong."

"I'm so afraid, Ben," she confessed as quietly as she could, eyes darting about for fear that somehow someone would overhear her.

"Afraid? Afraid of what?"

"It's coming to a close," she said ominously. "He told me… he told me that the final solution is near."

"What final solution?"

Rey closed her eyes and shook her head. "I don't know what's going to happen to me," she said. "If I'll… if I'll still be me, or if…"

"Rey, let me help you," came her brother's voice.

There was no hesitation on her account this third time around. Now she knew that Ben was her best hope. Opening her eyes, she nodded her head vigorously. Ben smiled weakly at her before standing back upright.

"Tell me where you are," he said. "I'll come for you."

"The Death Star," she said without pause. "I'm on the Death Star."

* * *

Upon collapsing into her mother's bed, Ania had expected to fall asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. She had been exhausted – both physically and emotionally – and she always slept better in her mother's quarters than in her own, anyway. Despite that, Ania found herself tossing and turning for what felt like hours to no avail. Face planted into the pillow, Ania groaned in exasperation as she attempted to untangle herself from the sheets.

"Get off me, damnit!" she growled, flailing her legs wildly before successfully freeing herself from the quarrelsome quilt. Flipping over onto her back, she ran both her hands through her unkempt hair before sitting upright. Pressing her back against the headboard, Ania sighed heavily as she craned her head to the ceiling.

"Mom?" she called out, turning toward the door to her left. "Mom, are you there?" She received no response. Rubbing her eyes, Ania reluctantly swung her legs off the bed and got to her feet. She felt awful. Her eyes were crusty and bloodshot and her nightgown was clinging to her clammy skin. Perhaps a hot shower would do her good.

Plodding into the bathroom, Ania deliberately avoided looking at her reflection as she stripped down and opened the glass door to her mother's shower. Turning on the water, she let out a startled yelp when it hit her. "Mom, what the hell!" she exclaimed, frantically reaching for the nozzle to turn the heat up. "Who takes a shower like that?" she asked, her teeth chattering loudly as the water slowly heated up.

As her indignation ebbed away, Ania leaned forward and gently pressed her forehead against the tiled wall of the shower. The water cascaded down onto her back for so long that she began to feel numb and the pads of her fingers became wrinkled. She didn't move, however – she didn't want to. With everything that had happened over the past week, Ania wanted to relish this experience for as long as she was able.

Her mind drifted to her conversation with Ben several hours prior. She hadn't intended on breaking down like she had. It humiliated her to show weakness like that, but time and time again it ended up happening regardless. The stress was simply too much for her to handle. The stress and the guilt, that is. Forcing herself not to think any longer about this dark subject, she returned her thoughts to the matter at hand. She felt bad about having accused Ben of not caring about her. It had been a stupid thing to say. Of course he cared about her. That could never be cast into doubt.

But even so, Ania didn't feel as if she had gotten any resolution. It was undeniable to her that a rift had formed between her and her brother. She needed to understand why this was and she needed to fix it as soon as possible. She didn't know if she could function without knowing that Ben was one hundred percent by her side.

Inflated with newfound determination, Ania turned off the water and wrapped herself with a towel as she stepped out of the shower. Stopping to wring her hair out in the sink, she swiftly made her way out of the bathroom and into the bedroom. She faltered, however, when she remembered where she was. This was her mother's room, not hers. She didn't have any of her clothes with her except for the nightgown and the rumpled robes she had been wearing that morning. Shrugging, Ania took it upon herself to go through her mother's wardrobe to find something suitable for herself. They were more or less the same size, and she was sure her mother wouldn't mind.

Stepping into the walk-in closet, Ania brushed her hand against the row of identical military uniforms as she made her way to the back where she knew the Jedi Robes to be. She reached out to grab a pair when she paused, a glint of white catching her eye. Her mother never wore white. What could that be? Looking down, she saw a sliver of fabric peeking out of a crate on the floor underneath a row of formal dresses. One hand held to her towel, she kneeled down toward the crate and pulled at the mysterious white garment. The crate creaked open a fraction and a long-sleeved shirt slipped out. Perplexed, Ania stood back upright and held the shirt out at arm's length. Her eyes gravitated toward a tear in the shirt's midsection which had been messily sewn back together. Beside that blemish, Ania couldn't deny that she had an affinity for the shirt. It suited her. While of course she preferred to wear darker colors much like her mother, Ania found herself willing to experiment with this shirt. She couldn't quite explain why, but it was as if it was calling to her.

A few minutes later, she stepped out of the closet and walked over toward the mirror fixed on the door to the bathroom. Tossing her towel aside, she inspected herself for a few moments before smiling. She had found a matching pair of white pants to go along with the shirt along with a wide, brown-tan belt. Glancing over to the nightstand behind her, she summoned her grandfather's lightsaber to her hand and quickly clipped it to her belt.

"There," she said to herself, placing her hands on her hips and giving her reflection one last look over. She liked the white. It made her look distinct. Like she was her own person.

Suddenly brimming with confidence, Ania spun around and marched out of the bedroom. Lightsaber bouncing against her hip, Ania left her mother's quarters and took off down the austere hallways of the _Skywalker _toward her brother's room which was opposite her own a floor below. A few people stopped to salute her on her way by, but she found that most didn't even recognize her in her new attire. In a way, she blended in far better this way. The black of her typical robes contrasted starkly with the Republic uniform whereas this outfit did not.

Stepping into the elevator, she began to recite her lines to herself. Last time she had confronted Ben without a plan, and the result had been embarrassing to say the least. This time she would be prepared.

"I'm sorry for accusing you of… I apologize for accusing you… I apologize for being so unfair to you… I apologize for… for… I apologize for what happened earlier. Yeah, that's it. I apologize for what happened earlier. It was wrong of me to accuse you of… to suggest that you… for making that unfair accusation. Good, that's good. It was wrong of me to make that unfair accusation."

She rambled on, eyes closed as she planned out all possible scenarios. This was how she had prepared herself before meeting Ben for the first time three years ago. She had been so nervous that she might slip up somehow that she had spent the entire night going through what she wanted to say to him and how she was going to gain his attention. This time she didn't have all night, however. But that was okay, wasn't it? Ben was her brother! She shouldn't have to feel as if she needed to recite her lines – and yet she did.

She opened her eyes when the elevator came to a stop and the door slid open. Taking a deep breath, she strode out of the lift and down the hallway toward Ben's quarters. Stopping at his door, she pulled at her sleeves before raising her fist to knock. Just before she did so, however, she stopped. Leaning forward, she pressed her ear against the door. She thought she heard voices…

"You sure this will work?" she heard Ben's voice say. The person he was talking to responded, but she couldn't make out their words as clearly as she had Ben's. "Okay, then," Ben said.

Ania pulled away from the door and frowned. What was this all about? It sounded like he was scheming. But what was he scheming about? And with who?

No, that was ridiculous! Skullduggery was her forte, not Ben's. Surely this must be some kind of misunderstanding. Deciding against knocking, Ania opened the door with a wave of her hand and stepped into her brother's room without announcing herself.

Ben's back was facing her as he looked down at someone sitting on the bed. Ania froze, suddenly fearing that she had walked in on…well, she didn't even want to think of what. Her fears were quickly dispelled, however, when Ben spun around and Ania saw who it was he had been talking to.

"Rey!" she exclaimed, instinctively pointing a finger at the girl.

"Ania!" Ben said with the same tone of surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"What is she doing here?" she asked, staring directly at Rey who was seething at her with furious eyes.

"Ania, I can explain –"

Ben was cut off when Rey leapt to her feet and drew her weapon. "You," she growled, activating the white blade.

Undeterred by the girl's aggression, Ania drew her own lightsaber as well and activated it without hesitation. "What are you doing with my brother?" she asked.

"You had no right to interfere!" Rey bellowed.

"Rey, stop –"

"Stay out of this, Ben."

"No!" Ben said, stepping forward and placing himself between Ania and Rey. "Rey, put away the lightsaber," he demanded, hands raised. "Ania, you too," he added, glancing behind his back at her.

"You first," Ania spat.

"No, you," Rey shot back petulantly.

"Rey, come on," Ben pleaded. "Just do it."

Several tense moments passed before Rey finally complied with Ben's request. Feeling triumphant, Ania waited for Rey to clip her lightsaber back to her belt before doing the same. Once both blades had been extinguished, Ben stepped aside and gave them both disapproving looks.

"The two of you aren't enemies," he said. "There's only one enemy and that's Sidious."

"Whom she serves!" Ania yelled.

"Ania, you don't know the full story," Ben said.

"Oh no? Then do clue me in, because I'm dying to know what the hell is going on here."

Ben glanced at Rey and nodded at her. The girl clenched her jaw and looked away, refusing to make eye contact with either one of them. "I'm going to tell her, okay?" Ben asked.

Rey took a few moments before responding. "Fine," she said shortly.

"Tell me what?" Ania asked.

"Rey is going to help us defeat Sidious," Ben said as he returned his attention to her. "She's switching sides."


	34. Proving Herself

Chapter 34 – Proving Herself

"Switching sides? What do you mean she's switching sides?"

"It means exactly like it sounds."

"I'm not switching sides, Ben. Whatever side she's on, I'm not on it."

"Rey, come on. Don't say that."

"I'm on my own side, okay?"

Ben sighed exasperatedly as he looked between his two sisters. "Look, it's in all of our best interests to be civil with one another," he said, hands extended with his palms toward the ceiling. "Do you think we can do that?" he asked, giving them both pointed looks.

Ania scowled at Rey as she crossed her arms in front of her chest. "How are you even here right now?" she asked, casting aside Ben's question. "Did Ben smuggle you onto the ship somehow?"

"Rey's not really here," Ben told her. "Not physically, at least." Ania guffawed at this bizarre statement, causing Ben to wince. "I mean it, Ania," he said. "Ask Mom. I'm not lying."

"Mom knows about this?" Ania asked.

Ben faltered as he looked over at Rey. "Um… sort of," he mumbled.

"You told Vitrius?" Rey asked darkly.

"No!" Ben said at once. "She just kind of… found out."

"Found out?"

"Yeah. It's not really possible to keep things from her for long. Ania back me up on this." Ania predictably said nothing as she continued to glower back at Rey. "Look," Ben said, hands still raised. "I know you're not going to like it, but my mother is the best chance we have at killing Sidious."

"No, I am!" Rey countered vociferously. "He will see Vitrius coming from parsecs away! With me, he won't suspect it."

"You're very confident in yourself," Ania commented snidely. "Did you forget about how easily I defeated you back on Jakku?"

"Shut up!" Rey exploded.

"Calm down! Calm down!" Ben said frantically, jumping in between them for a second time. "Ania, that was out of line," he said, pointing at her. "Say you're sorry." Ania gave him an incredulous look, seemingly too stunned by the request to even demur. "Okay, how about we just… how about we all just take a breath and go over the plan."

"Plan? What plan?" Ania asked.

"Rey's going to help us blow up the Death Star," Ben said. "That's great, isn't it?"

Ania narrowed her eyes further, clearly skeptical. "Why are you doing this?" she asked Rey.

Ben shook his head subtly at Rey, compelling her not to talk. The real plan had been for Ben to get on the Death Star alone and escape with Rey. They hadn't discussed the Death Star outside of it being their mutual meeting point. With Ania, however, Ben knew he needed to spin the plan in such a way to get her on board as well.

"Rey doesn't want to be used by Sidious anymore," Ben said, speaking on her behalf. "She's told me where the Death Star is and has already given me an access code to get into the hangar. All we have to do is destroy the crystals and get out."

"And then what?" Ania asked. "When does it explode?"

"That's the fun part," Ben said, thinking on his feet. "Jerjerrod thinks the superlaser is safe to fire because they just repaired the crystals," he said, studiously not making reference to Rey's role in the superweapon's restoration. "So once we've sufficiently damaged the crystal arrays, Rey will give Jerjerrod an order to fire the weapon. When that happens, the station should explode."

"But Ben –" Rey began to say, but he cut her off.

"This is going to work," he said. "It's a perfect plan."

"But what about her?" Rey asked, gesturing to Ania. "She's not coming, is she?"

"Why not?" Ben asked.

"I don't want her to," Rey said, clenching her jaw.

"Rey, don't be like that," Ben pleaded. "You can't let a petty rivalry get in the way of this."

"There is nothing petty about it!" Rey roared, stomping her foot on the ground.

"Okay, okay!" Ben said, raising his hands in surrender once more. "That was a poor word choice, but the point still stands. If this is going to work, we're going to need Ania's help."

"Says who?" Rey asked.

"Says me," Ben said. "I know you don't like her, but she's my sister too. You're both my sisters. Can't you put your differences aside for this. For me?"

Rey and Ania both glanced at him before returning their hawkish gazes to one another. A tense moment passed before Rey nodded briskly. "Fine," she said.

"And Ania?" Ben asked, turning to his biological sister. "What about you?"

"If you insist," she said, eyes fixated on Rey.

"I do."

"Then fine," Ania said. "But I need some kind of assurance that this isn't a trap."

"It's not a trap, Ania," Ben insisted.

"How do you know? She's a Sith, Ben! She called herself Sidious' heir!"

"You did?" Ben asked, turning to Rey.

"Well I am, aren't I?"

"I guess, but –"

"I don't plan on double crossing you, Skywalker," Rey said, speaking to Ania.

"Could you call her Ania?" Ben asked. "Please?"

Rey looked displeased with this request, but she acquiesced nevertheless. "Ania," she said, her voice stinging with bitterness. "I no longer wish to kill you."

"How reassuring," Ania said snidely.

"If I wanted to kill you, I would have done so on the _Revenge,_" Rey said.

"And if I wanted to kill you, I would have done so back on Jakku," Ania shot back.

"Well there you have it," Ben said quickly before Rey could offer a retort. "We're all on the same team here."

"For now," Rey amended. With that, she stood up off the bed rigidly. "I need to go attend to some business," she said. "I hope we will be able to remain in contact."

Ben merely nodded, concerned by how eager Rey was to leave. Sparing one last nasty look toward Ania, Rey spun around and disappeared abruptly. Ben blinked a few times, staring at the spot where she had once been for a few moments before turning back toward Ania.

"Well that went better than expected," he said, more to himself than to her.

"What was that?" Ania asked. "How was she here just now?"

"I have no idea," Ben confessed as he rubbed his forehead wearily. "Mom was just as bewildered as you are," he added, somewhat disingenuously. The truth was that Leia had suspected that Sidious was behind their communications somehow, but that wasn't something Ania needed to know about. Besides, Ben knew that couldn't possibly be true. He and Rey were conspiring to kill Sidious. There was no way he was responsible for bridging their minds in this way. But if not him, then whom?

"Do you honestly trust her, Ben?" Ania asked him, chewing her lower lip anxiously as her eyes drifted over toward the bed on which Rey had been seated.

"I do," Ben said without pause. "She needs my help, Ania."

Ania frowned at this as she bowed her head. "I, uh… I'm sorry about barging in," she said in a low voice. "I should have knocked."

"That's okay," Ben said, perplexed by this shift in subject. "Did you want to talk with me about something?"

Ania looked up at him and hesitated. "I… no. No, I didn't," she said haltingly.

Ben considered her for a few moments with a furrowed brow. "Ania, you can talk to me," he said gently. "Just because I'm communicating with Rey doesn't mean I'm not still here for you."

"I know," Ania mumbled. "I just… I don't trust her, Ben."

"Ania –"

"You weren't there when she tortured me, Ben," Ania interrupted. "She said the most horrible things about me and Mom. She hates us more than anything. Just because she likes you doesn't mean she's ever going to stop hating us."

Ben pursed his lips and looked away. "She's just a girl," he said. "She's been manipulated, Ania. Just like you were, I might add." Ania faltered at that, clearly having never considered it like that. "Why don't we go talk to Mom about this," he suggested, eager to divert the conversation.

"You're going to tell her?" Ania asked, sounding pleasantly surprised.

"Of course I am," Ben said, prevaricating.

The truth of the matter was that Ben was withholding one crucial piece of information from both Ania and Leia: the fact that Rey was going to be on the Death Star when they arrived. If they knew about that, so Ben's reasoning went, they never would agree to go. Ania would consider her fears that this was a trap to be all but confirmed. She would say that Rey was merely luring them onto the Death Star so that Sidious could kill them. But Ben knew better. He knew Sidious was powerless without Rey and the sooner he rescue her from that monster the better chance they had at winning this war.

* * *

"I'm sorry, Grandfather. I thought I'd be strong enough."

Rey bowed her head as she kneeled before the billowing ghost of the Sith. Assuming the figure of her grandfather as it so often did, the ghost reached down and placed its smoky hand on her chin, compelling her to look up. Rey stiffened with fear as tendrils of vaporous smoke tickled her skin in a most eerie manner.

"_You will be strong enough soon, my child,_" Sidious told her, a smile stretching across his tenebrous countenance. "_Until then, you must do as well as you are able. How many crystals did you heal?_"

Rey hesitated as she looked up at her grandfather's face. "I healed, uh… most of one," she admitted in a small voice. "I tried really hard!" she said when he frowned. "It's just so draining."

"_The sooner this station is operational, the better chance we have at defeating Vitrius,_" Sidious said, hissing venomously at the mention of his foe's name. "_If you are unable –"_

"I can do it, I swear!" Rey exclaimed before Sidious could make the suggestion. "I'll redouble my efforts."

"_Triple them,_" Sidious said harshly. "_My patience is running thin._"

"But I did as you asked, Grandfather! I set the trap just like you wanted! Ben's going to lead her right to you!"

"_If this station is not functional when she arrives, our hand will be considerably weaker,_" Sidious chastised. "_The crystals _must _be repaired in time. Do I make myself clear?_"

"Yes, Grandfather," Rey intoned, bowing her head once more. "I won't fail you."

Sidious considered her for a few moments before nodding. "_No,_" he said. "_You can't._" With that, the ghost of the Sith dissolved into an indiscernible cloud once more before descending back into the urn from which it came.

Standing up, Rey straightened out the hem of her shirt with a smirk. Sidious thought she couldn't fail him? She couldn't wait to prove him wrong. She would prove them all wrong.

* * *

Ania was seated beside Finn in the vacated command room overlooking the bridge on the _Skywalker. _Her mother was seated at the head of the table while Ben paced back and forth at the opposite end in front of the window. Ania watched her mother's reactions closely as Ben told her everything that had happened with Rey.

"So what do you say?" Ben asked after having concluded his story.

Leia didn't respond, her expression inscrutable as she looked back at Ben silently. Ania could feel her brother's rising tension with each passing second. Suddenly, Leia did the unexpected and turned away from Ben without answering him.

"Did you find that in my closet?" she asked her, the tone flat and not accusative.

Ania blinked a few times in surprise. "What, this?" she asked, looking down at the white shirt she was wearing.

Leia nodded as a ghost of a smile emerged on the corner of her lips. "It looks nice on you," she said with a hint of wistfulness.

"Where did it come from?" Ania asked, ignoring Ben's indignant expression.

Leia tilted her head as her eyes scanned over her torso. "That belonged to your grandmother," she said finally, her voice soft and her smile wan.

Ania inhaled sharply, the elastic cloth suddenly feeling unpleasantly tight around her ribs. "I shouldn't have –" she began to say, but her mother cut her off.

"I wore that when I killed Sidious," she said, causing Ania to shut up abruptly.

"You did?" Ben asked, interjecting on Ania's behalf since she was too stunned to speak.

"Oh yes," Leia said as she slowly stood up out of her chair and began walking down the length of the table toward Ben. "I found it in her wardrobe the morning before we left for Malachor," she said, coming to a stop by the window and peering down at the bridge below. "She was surprised to see me wearing it."

A long silence passed before Ania stood up as well. "I'll take it off," she said, feeling as if her very skin was besmirching the hallowed fabric.

"Don't," Leia said, there eyes meeting in the reflection of the window. "It belongs to you now."

Ania wanted to object, but she stopped herself by biting down hard on her tongue. She knew once her mother had made up her mind, there was nothing she could do to change it. She looked down once again at the shirt, running her finger delicately along the seam over her abdomen as she shut her eyes.

"Mom sewed that up herself after it got torn by a Nexu at Geonosis.," she heard Leia tell her, evidently having turned around to see what she was doing. "Or at least she tried to. She and I both were never good at those type of… domestic skills."

"Geonosis? As in the Battle of Geonosis?" Ben asked.

"The very one."

"I never knew she was there."

Ania's hand froze as she considered this information. In a way, this was the closest Ania had ever been to her grandmother. Padmé Amidala's hand had once been right where hers was right now…

"Let's return to the subject at hand, shall we?" her mother's voice suggested after a few moments, prompting Ania to open her eyes.

"Yes," Ben said, clapping his hands together. "I say we leave tomorrow morning. Who knows how much time we might have before they have that superlaser up and running again."

"Agreed," Leia said, although her voice was distant.

"Really?" Ben asked. "You have no concerns? None whatsoever?"

Leia looked up at him with a subtle smirk. "Concerns?" she repeated. "Of course I have concerns. From everything you've told me, the odds of this being a trap are extremely high."

Nonplussed by this casual delivery, Ben placed his hands on his hips as he furrowed his brow. "If you're so sure it's a trap, why are you agreeing to do it?" he asked.

"Because I trust your judgement, Ben," Leia said. "And besides, I've always preferred to spring the trap rather than sidestepping it." Amused by their quizzical expressions, Leia shook her head and smiled before abruptly changing the subject. "Ben, you need a weapon, do you not?" she asked her son.

"Huh? Oh, yeah," Ben said, patting his flank where there was no lightsaber to be found.

"What happened to your lightsaber?" Ania asked, having not noticed that it was missing.

"Luke took it," Leia said for him. "I'm right, aren't I?"

Ben nodded. "Things got a little heated," he mumbled.

"I figured as much," Leia said. "I have a spare you can use in the meantime."

"What do you mean in the meantime?" Ben asked.

"When this is all over, I will teach you how to make your own blade," Leia told him. "You too, Ania," she added to her. "If you're willing to part with that one, that is."

"What about me?" Finn suddenly asked, startling Ania who had almost forgotten that her Padawan was even there. "Don't I get a weapon?"

"Finn, I don't think –" Ben began to say, but Leia held up a hand to stop him.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" she asked. "This mission will be dangerous."

"I don't care how dangerous it is, I'm going," Finn said resolutely.

Leia considered him for a moment before nodding. "Very well," she said. "You may come. But the only weapon I'm willing to give you is a blaster."

"A blaster? But how is that going to help me?" Finn asked. "You just said that the only way to destroy these crystals is with a lightsaber," he added, gesturing to Ben.

"You won't be joining us on that part of the mission," Leia said.

"But why not? There are four arrays! You'll need a fourth member, won't you?"

"I'm sure we will manage," Leia said coolly. "The only task you are qualified to perform is to protect our ship."

"The ship? But –"

"Our ship is our only way in and out of the Death Star," Leia interrupted. "Your role will be pivotal, if not less glamorous."

Finn opened his mouth to object, but Ania shot him a warning look. Catching his master's eye, Finn hesitated for a moment before dropping the issue.

"I am being extremely generous to allow you to accompany us in the first place," Leia said to Finn who had bowed his head in resignation. "I need to know that you will not do anything to jeopardize this mission."

"Why would I do that?" Finn asked, indignant.

"So I have your word? You will not leave your post for any reason?"

Finn glanced at Ania who nodded at him, compelling him to agree. "Fine," he grumbled.

"Say it," Leia demanded, crossing her arms as she took a step toward the recalcitrant Padawan. "I need to hear it."

"I won't abandon my post," Finn said, clearly intimidated by Leia's imposing presence.

"Good," Leia said, her eyes narrowed as she scrutinized the young man. "The next order of business pertains to the pilot," she said upon turning away from Finn toward Ben. "I assume your man will be willing to do the job."

"Who, Poe?" Ben asked. "I mean, probably. He seems down for just about anything."

"For a price," Ania contributed. "There's no way he's going to do this for free."

"Oh, I think you'd be surprised," Leia said, sparing her a sly smile. Ania frowned, unsure how to interpret that remark. "Ben, why don't you tend to that matter now. Take Finn with you and try to find him some stormtrooper armor. Ask Cara if she knows anything about that."

"What? No!" Finn exclaimed. "I don't want –"

"You'll need to blend in, Finn," Leia told him. "Do you want to come or not?" Finn opened his mouth but no retort came. "That's what I thought," Leia said. "Ania, you stay behind. I want to talk with you privately."

Giving Finn a reassuring nod, she watched him and Ben depart as Leia came to stand next to her. Mother and daughter waited in silence until both men had left and the door closed behind them. Once they were alone, Leia turned to look her up and down one more time.

"To be frank, I'd almost forgot about that outfit," she said, smiling warmly when their eyes met. "You look beautiful, really."

"Thanks, Mom," Ania mumbled, blushing.

Leia's expression sobered as she reached out and placed both hands on Ania's shoulders. Ania straightened out her back, surprised by this gesture. "I meant what I said, Ania," she told her in a soft voice. "This belongs to you now. You shouldn't feel as if you are unworthy to wear it."

Ania's eyes widened a fraction at her mother's insight. She didn't know why she still got surprised by such displays. There was no emotion Ania could feel without her mother detecting it. "But I don't deserve it," she protested. "What have I ever done to make you think that I do?"

Leia shook her head as she tightened her grip on Ania's shoulders. "I was still a Sith when I put on this outfit for the first time back on Hoth," she said. "I had done nothing but hurt and disappoint my own mother up to that point. Yet she didn't care about that. She gave me her whole wardrobe and accepted me as her daughter with open arms. It's what you do afterward that matters."

Ania pursed her lips and nodded as she let her mother's encouraging words sink in. "I won't let you down, Mom," she said, her voice no louder than a whisper.

Leia gave her shoulders one last squeeze before retracting her hands and taking a step away. "Come on," she said gesturing toward the door with her head. "I've got to get back to the bridge. Walk with me, would you?"

Ania smiled tentatively before following after her mother out of the command room and down the hallway toward the stairs. Walking side by side, Ania glanced up at her mother cautiously as she deliberated on whether she should ask the question or not.

"Ask me," Leia said suddenly without so much as looking at her.

"How –" she began to say before stopping herself.

"I'm all ears, Ania," Leia said as they reached the spiraled stairs and began to descend toward the bridge.

"It's nothing important," Ania said.

"Ania," Leia said with a stern look. "Speak."

Ania gulped before complying. "It's just… why did you say that about Poe?" she asked.

"Say what?"

"That he'd do the job for free."

"Because I know he will."

"But… why?"

"Don't ask questions you already know the answer to, Ania," Leia reminded her as they reached the bottom of the stairs. "You know full well why I know."

"He's not in love with me!" Ania insisted in a hushed voice as she glanced around surreptitiously at the officers on the bridge behind Leia. "How could you think that? He doesn't even like me!"

Leia snorted at this. "I was about your age when I first realized how Han felt about me," she said, causing Ania to stiffen at the mention of her father. "He was always so gruff and boorish around me. It drove me crazy."

"Poe doesn't drive me crazy," Ania said through gritted teeth. "I don't even think about him."

"I told myself the same thing," Leia said with a knowing smile. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get back."

"Wait, Mom –"

Leia didn't give her a chance to explain herself, however, as she spun around and purposefully marched away toward the bridge. Ania watched her retreating figure for a moment longer as she contemplating going after her. Now was as good a time as ever, right?

Clenching her jaw, Ania looked away and shook her head. Of all things, why was this what she was dwelling on right now? There were far more pressing matters at hand than the dubious question of her love life. Besides, she didn't want to give her mother another reason to be disappointed in her. She had to make her proud. She had to be the woman her mother wanted her to be.

Even if she wasn't.


	35. Blips

Chapter 35 – Blips

Leia's figure was partially shrouded in shadows as she leaned against the back wall of Poe's dingy ship. She was watching with her arms crossed as Ania wielded her grandfather's lightsaber in the center of the cabin. Finn and Poe were seated along the bench to her left as they watched her with wide eyes. Ben meanwhile was pacing around his sister as he provided commentary.

"This is Form III, or Soresu," he explained to Finn who nodded. "It's a predominantly defensive combat style. It doesn't really suit Ania or me, but everyone's different."

"So what form do you use?" Finn asked Ben as Ania lowered her lightsaber.

"Form V for the most part," Ben said with a shrug. "Although I occasionally employ bits of Form III."

"What about you, Ania?" Poe asked. "What form do you use?"

Ania blushed and looked away as she clipped her lightsaber to her belt. Leia leaned forward a bit, amused by her daughter's reaction. "Form VII," she mumbled as she walked away toward the opposite bench and sat down. "That's how Mom taught me to fight," she added, turning to look over at her.

"What's Form VII?" Finn asked as Leia pushed herself away from the wall and began walking over toward her children.

"Juyo," Leia said, speaking to Finn yet looking at Ania. "It is the most aggressive form of lightsaber combat. It is how Sidious taught me to fight. A Juyo fighter is merciless in her attacks. She will never resort to the defensive, no matter how dire the fight."

"And that works?" Finn asked skeptically.

"It is the ultimate mode of combat," Leia said, only now turning to look at the young Padawan. "A masterful practitioner of Juyo cannot be defeated in single combat."

"That's not true," Ben disagreed. "If that was the case, why wouldn't everyone use that form?"

"Because not all are suited to it," Leia lectured. "Ania and I are more disposed to the offensive than you are, Ben, so that's why I taught you to use a less aggressive combat style. But at the end of the day, good offense always wins out over good defense."

"Is that so?" Ben asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Your grandfather was the ultimate practitioner of Form V whereas I am the ultimate practitioner of Form VII," Leia told him. "I don't need to remind you that it was I who emerged victorious when we dueled."

"Victorious? I thought he threw you across the room and nearly killed you."

"Only because Luke and my mother interfered," Leia growled defensively. "I had soundly defeated him when they got in the way."

"But that's just a technicality," Ben said, oblivious to Leia's irritable expression. "He ended up with your lightsaber and had you pinned to the ground. From my point of view, it seems like he won."

"You just don't like knowing that I'm a better fighter than you," Ania said with a smirk.

"You are not!"

"Yeah I am! Mom just said it!"

"Give it a rest, would you?" Leia requested, rolling her eyes as she made to sit down on the bench next to Ania. "You are both exceptional fighters."

"Yeah, but I'm more exceptional," Ania said playfully, prompting Ben to guffaw in indignation. Unconcerned by this harmless jawing, Leia rested her head against the wall behind her and closed her eyes. She exhaled slowly as she let her mind drift back to the last time she had been in this situation.

She and her father had just escaped Echo Base by the skin of their teeth, destroying much of the Rebel Fleet in the process. From there they had flown off to the Death Star to rescue Luke and Padmé from Sidious. She had felt incredibly conflicted about her identity at that point, so much so that Sidious had been able to manipulate her into turning against her father. Ania was in a similarly precarious state of mind.

Her daughter took after her in so many ways – in too many ways, perhaps. Leia could only help that Ania would be able to land on her own two feet like she had managed. She feared the worst, however. Leia had only been able to persevere after her father's death due to the support her loved ones had provided. Without Han, Luke, and her mother, Leia wouldn't have been able to recover.

If she were to die today – and Leia was firmly aware that that was a distinct possibility – would Ania truly be able to recover from that trauma without a comparable support network? Sure, she had her brother, but Leia feared that Ben wouldn't be sufficient, what with his attention being injudiciously split between Ania and Rey. Perhaps that was why she had been pushing so hard for Ania to explore other relationships – whether they be platonic with Finn or romantic with Poe. Yet Ania had been resisting her. She was a recluse, introverted young woman who had a disposition toward keeping others at arm's length.

Not wanting to think any further about her daughter's life without her, Leia opened her eyes and stood up. "I'll be in the cockpit," Leia told Ania when she opened her mouth to ask where she was going. "I've got to check in with the fleet."

"Okay, Mom," Ania said with a smile before returning to her conversation with Ben. Leia watched the pair for a moment before turning away and making her way out of the cabin.

The cockpit of Poe's ship featured a single pilot's chair made of cracked brown leather. A lightbulb was suspended from the ceiling on a cable, the swinging bulb casting shadows throughout the small room. Reaching up, she grabbed the bulb and held it steady before sitting down in the pilot's chair. Reaching into her pocket, Leia produced her holoprojector and set it down on the control panel in front of her. She paused briefly when she heard laughter coming from the main hold. Smiling to herself, Leia's expression sobered as she entered the code into the holoprojector and waited to establish connection.

"_General Skywalker, it's good to hear from you._"

"It's good to be heard," Leia said as she straightened out her back. "What's the situation on the bridge, General Dune?"

"_Nothing to report, ma'am,_" her second in command told her with a bob of her head. "_We should arrive in the system thirty minutes after you do._"

"Good," Leia said. "You had no issues with the jump? No tails?"

"_No ma'am, it doesn't seem like we were tracked,_" Dune said. "_Although I can't be entirely sure._"

"Oh no?"

"_We registered a blip on our scanners just as we entered hyperspace._"

"What constitutes a blip, general?" Leia asked, frowning.

"_It was so small, it barely even registered,_" Dune said. "_It could be a single-pilot fighter craft, I suppose, but I find that unlikely. First Order fighters are almost never equipped with hyperdrive capabilities._"

"What about the TIE's?" Leia asked.

"_They have a few of those, but intel tells us that they're not real Imperial models. Their knock offs from some Outer Rim corporation. The First Order simply doesn't have the resources to equip their craft with hyperdrives._"

"That's not going to cut it, general," Leia said, disappointed by Dune's uncharacteristic lapse of judgement. "You're going to have to drop out of hyperspace to investigate this blip."

"_With all due respect, ma'am, I don't think that would be a good idea. The First Order is going to find out we're coming one way or another. Besides, jumping out of hyperspace would cost us an hour, maybe more. What if you get stranded on that station without backup?_"

"I appreciate your concern, general, but your job is not to worry about me but about the mission as a whole."

"_Without you, there is no mission, General Skywalker,_" Dune said, the corner of her lips curling into a nearly imperceptible smile. "_I don't want you spending a minute longer than you have to on that abomination._"

Leia faltered at this adamant expression of loyalty. "Thank you, General Dune, but this is nonnegotiable," she said after a moment's pause. "You wouldn't defy a direct order, would you?"

"_Of course not, ma'am,_" Dune said at once.

"Good," Leia said. "I don't expect this to hold you up for long, anyway. I'll expect your arrival within ninety minutes of my own."

"_Make that seventy-five,_" Dune said.

"Seventy-five it is," Leia said, ever grateful for Dune's efficiency. "If that's all, I'll let you return to the bridge."

"_Just one last thing, ma'am,_" Dune said, surprising Leia who had just reached forward to deactivate the holoprojector.

"Yes?" she asked, pulling her hand back and inclining her chin.

Dune hesitated for a moment and Leia thought she detected a hint of discomfort from the typically stoic woman. "_I just… I wanted to tell you that it has been an honor to serve behind you for these past thirty years,_" she said finally. "_You are the greatest military mind I have ever known and an even better leader._"

Leia tilted her head, flattered yet nevertheless perplexed by this praise. "You think I'm not going to return, don't you?" she asked.

"_It's a possibility,_" Dune said.

"Indeed, it is," Leia agreed grimly. She looked away for a second, her eyes glazing over as she considered the danger ahead. "Thank you for your kind words, general," she said upon shaking herself back to the present. "And in the case that I don't return, I will have you know that you are the best chief of staff I could have ever hoped for."

"_Thank you, ma'am,_" Dune said, and Leia could tell she was struggling to keep her expression neutral as a blush spread across her cheeks.

"Let's get back to work, shall we?" Leia suggested upon clearing her throat.

"_Yes, ma'am_," Dune said, nodding firmly. "_May the Force be with you, general._"

Leia was unable to stop herself from smiling at this saying. "Oh, I'm sure he will be," she said to herself before deactivating the holoprojector.

Just then, Leia heard an alarm sound to her left. Turning toward the noise, she saw a red bulb flashing on and off at the far end of the control panel. "Poe!" she called out, spinning around in her chair. "Get in here, would you?" The muffled conversation in the main hold stopped abruptly and Leia heard a great bustle as several sets of footsteps began to approach. "What are you all doing here?" she asked when she saw four separate shadows approaching from down the hallway. "I called for Poe only."

"Sorry, Mom, I just needed to see it," came Ben's voice as he squeezed into the compact cockpit. By far the largest person in the room, Ben had to contort his body awkwardly to permit the other three entry.

"Ow, Ben!" Ania exclaimed. "Watch your elbows!"

"You watch it!" Ben shot back, shoving her away from him.

"Children," Leia said tersely. "Stop it."

"Pardon me, General Skywalker," came Poe's voice from the entrance. "Excuse me, Finn," he added as he pushed his way toward the pilot's seat.

"Oh, of course," Leia said, standing up quickly to get out of his way.

"Why do you have to take up so much space?" she heard Ania ask as she and Ben continued to jostle for position by the window.

"Why do you have to –" Ben began to say, but stopped when Leia shot him a warning look. "Whatever, this is fine," he mumbled, his back pressed against the wall as he peered over Ania's head out the window.

"How long until we leave hyperspace?" Leia asked Poe.

Poe didn't answer her, his tongue sticking out as he wrapped his hand around the throttle. Leia was about to prod him for an answer when he suddenly pulled down on the throttle and said: "Now!"

The whole ship jolted forward, causing Finn to fall into her as they both careened toward the wall. "So sorry, Master Skywalker!" the young man apologized profusely as he pulled away from her.

"No worries, Finn," Leia grumbled as she brushed down her Jedi robes. "Poe, what the hell was that?" she asked the pilot.

"Sorry, ma'am," Poe said, his gaze conveniently fixated on the control panel in front of him rather than at her withering glare. "I probably should have warned you beforehand. Deceleration can be a little rough in this ship."

"You think?" she asked sardonically. Her irritation with Poe was quickly dispelled, however, when she heard her daughter gasp. Turning her head toward the sound, she saw Ania and Ben staring out the window with wide eyes.

"It's enormous!" Ben exclaimed, his hand pressed against the ceiling as he looked over his sister's head.

Following their incredulous gazes, Leia saw the massive structure of the Death Star looming beyond the asteroid belt in front of their window. The bottom half of the station was visibly incomplete, great steel segments jutting out like talons. The top hemisphere, however, looked identical to the station she remembered from thirty years ago; a colossal dish miles in diameter served as the crucible for the most destructive weapon ever created.

"So what do you say, Mom?" Ania's voice beckoned her to look away. "Is it how you remembered?"

Leia nodded absently, long-suppressed memories flashing before her eyes with nauseating rapidity. The Death Star had been her first assignment after Sidious had released her into the world. It was on that station where she had truly become Darth Vitrius; it was there where she had proven herself to be a monster in her own right independent of her horrific master.

"Mom?" Ben asked. "You okay?"

"I'm fine," she said, fists clenched as she looked back out the window. Closing her eyes momentarily, Leia thought back to the day when she had stopped the Tantive IV over Tatooine and had the feisty senator from Naboo arrested. From there, she had taken an incensed Padmé back to the Death Star to be interrogated and, if need be, to be tortured. The powers she had been endowed with during her brief period of stay on that station had been intoxicating and had nearly inflicted irrevocable damage upon her soul. Had her father not convinced her to break Padmé out and escape, Leia could very well still be slaving under Sidious' thumb as the thoughtless monster he always wanted her to be.

"Why here of all places?" Finn asked, stirring Leia once more from her memories. "There isn't even a habitable planet in this system."

"No, but the asteroid field is rich with zersium which they need for the durasteel," Ben said. "Besides, it's easier to keep it hidden if there's no inhabited worlds around."

"So that's how they've kept this monstrosity a secret," Leia mused as she continued to stare unblinkingly at the Death Star which was rapidly growing in their field of view. After everything she and her father had done to destroy the first one, these wretched Imperial wannabes had gone ahead and made another one. It wasn't fair!

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Ania asked after a tense silence.

"Why wouldn't it work?" Ben asked with a hint of irritability. "Rey gave me a special code. They'll admit us right away."

"Yeah, but what if they try to search us? Rey won't be able to help us then, will she?"

Ben hesitated, perhaps having not considered this question before. "Don't worry about that," Leia said without looking away from the window. "I'll send anyone away if they come to inspect our ship."

"And what about after you're gone?" Poe asked.

"That's what Finn's for," Leia told him. "Speaking of which, Finn you should probably get suited up. We'll be there in a few minutes."

"Oh! Right," Finn said. "Let me go do that." With that, the young man spun around and departed the cockpit with haste.

Silence ensued as the remaining four waited with bated breath and burgeoning apprehension. The Death Star had entirely subsumed their minimal field of view and their inconspicuous vessel was now surrounded by a hodgepodge of similarly shabby First Order ships which were transporting supplies and construction crew.

Cutting off the engines, Poe allowed their vessel to drift slowly toward the hangar which was only now becoming visible to them. All of a sudden, the three of them who were standing lurched forward when their ship jerked to an abrupt halt.

"They've got us in the tractor beam," Poe informed them grimly. "Nothing I can do now."

At these words, the radio crackled to life and a voice spoke. "_Unidentified vessel, state your call sign._"

"I've got this," Ben mouthed to them as he sidestepped Ania and leaned down toward the radio. "Control tower, this is Solo One," he said, glancing up at Leia as he spoke.

"_Solo One, we don't have you on our manifest,_" the voice over the radio said. "_Are you carrying cargo or personnel?_"

"Neither," Ben informed the radio operator calmly. "This ship was requested at the behest of Lord Ren himself. I have a landing code for verification."

A long pause followed as they all listened to the static of the radio. Finally, the voice on the line spoke. "_Very well, Solo One,_" it said. "_You may transmit that code now._" Ben did so, his nimble fingers tapping away at the keypad for a few moments before transmitting the digits. A minute passed before the voice returned. "_Solo One, you are authorized for landing,_" it said, prompting Ben to pump his fist in celebration. "_We'll pull you in with the tractor beam. Stand by._"

Cutting off the feed, Ben stood up and wiped his brow. "Solo One?" Leia asked him, eyebrow arched.

"That's the call sign Rey told me to use," Ben explained. "It's fitting, don't you think?"

Leia glanced over at Ania who was staring determinedly at her feet. "I suppose," Leia said faintly. Feeling the ship begin to move, Leia spun her head back toward the window where she saw them rapidly approaching the broad, rectangular opening to the hangar. Taking a deep breath, she nodded to herself before turning to leave the cockpit. "Come on," she instructed with as much authority as she could muster. "Let's get ready to disembark."

Ben and Ania followed her without a word as they made their way down the hallway to the main cabin of the ship. There they found Finn seated on the bench fixing the white stormtrooper greaves to his legs. Looking up to see them approaching, Finn tightened the strap and stood upright. "Show time?" he asked, leaning down to pick up his helmet which was rested next to him on the bench.

"Show time," Ben confirmed with a nod.

Finn pursed his lips and looked down at the helmet in his hands. "What's wrong?" Ania asked him.

Finn glanced up at her and gave her a reassuring smile. "Nothing, it's just…" he began to say before trailing off, his eyes somewhat distant as he looked back down at the helmet. "I never thought I'd have to wear this again," he concluded finally.

"And I never thought I'd have to be on this station again," Leia said. "But I assure you this will be the last time. For you and me both, Finn." At these words, the cabin rattled a bit when the vessel touched down in the hangar. "Show time," she said to herself before turning around toward the exit and opening the door with the pulling of a lever.

A rickety ramp began to unfurl itself with a deafening series of creaks and groans. For a third time, Leia found herself lost in a memory as she hearkened back to the last time she had disembarked onto the Death Star. She had been greeted by Tarkin's sycophant Admiral Motti along with an entire phalanx of Stormtroopers.

_Come out of the ship with your hands in the air!_

She had smirked, unparalleled confidence and resolve surging through her as she descended the ramp. _Now, now, Admiral,_ she had taunted. _You and I both know that there is nothing you can do to contain me. Why don't you drop the façade of control?_

This time when the ramp finished unfurling, however, no such spectacle of force was there to greet her. Instead, a single uniformed officer with a datapad was followed by two disinterested stormtroopers. Looking up from his datapad, the officer's thin face blanched with fear when he saw who it was marching toward him.

"Sk-skywalker!" he stammered in fear as he staggered away from her, the datapad falling out of his hands and clattering to the floor. "Shoot her! Shoot her!"

The two stormtroopers raised their blasters, yet stopped when Leia raised her hand, freezing them in their tracks. "You did not see me, officer," she said, unwittingly channeling the low growl of Vitrius. "You will tell your superiors that you have nothing to report."

"I… I didn't see you," the man said haltingly.

"And?" Leia prompted.

"I have nothing to report."

"Very good," Leia said, smiling faintly. Lowering her hand, she released the erstwhile-immobilized stormtroopers from her grasp. "Troopers, you will drop your weapons and kick them over to me," she commanded. "And then you will repeat what the officer told me."

The stormtroopers barely even hesitated before complying with her suggestion. Dropping their blasters, they kicked them over and repeated the lines. "We didn't see you and we have nothing to report," they intoned.

"Excellent," Leia said. "You may go."

The three dumbfounded men nodded and the stormtrooper on the left even found himself performing a dazed salute before they turned around in unison and departed. Leia watched them retreat down the hangar for a few moments before turning around back toward Poe's ship.

"All clear," she called out.

Ben peeked his head out first, looking left and right before descending down the ramp toward her. Ania and a fully geared-up Finn followed closely after him.

"Everyone has their comlinks?" Leia asked them as they approached. The three each patted their respective pockets and gave her a nod. "Alright," she said, drawing her lightsaber and giving it a twirl. "Finn, you stay here by the ship," she instructed. "Keep everyone and anyone away."

"Will do," Finn said, his voice modulated on account to the mask.

"You two," Leia said, turning to her children. "Take no unnecessary risks. If anyone gives you trouble, do not resort to violence. Mind tricks are your sole weapon today."

"And if that doesn't work?" Ben asked. "Ania and I aren't exactly experts."

"I have faith in you both," Leia said candidly. "If you run into serious trouble, contact me via the comlink."

"Don't worry, Mom, we've got this," Ania said, elbowing her brother in the ribs. "Let's get going, shall we?"

"Very well," Leia said, suddenly feeling anxious on her children's behalf. She knew that they were both capable and well-disciplined, but she couldn't help but be nervous about letting them go off on their own like this. Stowing away her apprehension, Leia took a deep breath and nodded. "Let's do this," she said.

* * *

Cara Dune was standing on the bridge with her hands held behind her back as she peered out the window at the blue expanse of hyperspace in front of her. Adopting a wide posture, Cara kept her back rigid as she maintained the proper military formation. She was technically in charge on the bridge in the general's absence, but Cara was still taking her orders even if she didn't agree with them.

"Okay, captain," she said in a loud, clear voice. "Do it."

The entire Republic Fleet exited hyperspace at her command. The bright blue hyperspace was gone in an instant and they emerged at an empty point in space. Nothing but the twinkling of distant stars presented themselves to her. Cara closed her eyes for a second, acknowledging her frustration before suppressing it once more.

"Anything on the scanners?" she asked, not expecting an affirmative.

Her inquiry was met with silence for a few moments before someone spoke up. "General Dune, I've detected a foreign vessel within our vicinity."

"Are you sure?" Cara asked, turning away from the window and toward the voice.

"Yes ma'am. It's small but it's definitely there. It must have tracked us when we jumped into hyperspace."

"Show me," Cara ordered, striding down the bridge and toward the station. Coming to a stop, Cara loomed over the officer who was honing in on the signal from their station a few feet below. "Well?" she asked. "What is it?"

"Not sure, ma'am," the officer said, craning their head to look at her. "Would you like to take a look?"

Cara kneeled down so that she could get a better view of the screen. The officer had highlighted a minuscule point in space some dozen or so kilometers away from the fleet. Tilting her head, Cara narrowed her eyes as she contemplated this information. "You sure that's not one of our ships, officer?" she asked.

"Yes, ma'am. I'm sure."

Cara pursed her lips as she stood back upright. "Odd," she mused. Spinning around, she marched back down the bridge toward the observation window. "Make contact with that ship," she ordered. "If you receive no response, I want the nearest vessel to shoot it out of the sky."

"Yes, ma'am," a different voice said. "Establishing contact."

Cara waited a few moments before the sound of static was projected from the communications station to her left. Glancing down toward the station, Cara licked her lips before greeting their mystery follower. "This is General Carasynthia Dune of the Republic Fleet," she said. "To whom am I speaking and why did you follow us?"

Silence followed her question for several tense moments. Cara had just opened her mouth to threaten the unidentified vessel when the static was finally interrupted by a voice.

"_Cara, what a surprise,_" it said.

Cara frowned at this casual greeting. Did she recognize that voice? She felt as if she did, but she couldn't quite identify it.

"Who is this?" she asked.

"_This is_ _Red 5, reporting for duty,_" the voice told her.


	36. Divide and Conquer

Chapter 36 – Divide and Conquer

Rey was exhausted. Her hand was pressed against the crystal array, keeping her upright as the rest of her body sagged forward. Her head was bowed and her knees shook and trembled. Gulping in huge breaths of air, Rey was unable to wipe the sweat away from her brow on account to the restricting mask which she was wearing. Cursing her grandfather for insisting that she had to wear it, Rey grit her teeth and staggered back upright.

"My lord?"

Rey exhaled out of her mouth in exasperation. "Why are you interrupting me?" she snarled.

"My lord, they're here."

Rey's head snapped up at these words. "Solo One?" she asked.

"Yes, my lord."

Her weariness abruptly subsided in the face of her anticipation. Spinning away from the partially healed crystal array, Rey took two steps toward her fellow Knight of Ren.

"Do we have eyes on them?" she asked.

"Yes, my lord," the knight said again.

"And?" she pried. "Where are they?"

"Vitrius separated from the other two," the knight informed her. "She's approaching the first quadrant as we speak."

"What about her students? Are they together?"

"For now."

Rey hissed as she looked away sharply. "They'll split up soon," she said, hoping against hope that she would be proven right. The entirety of her plans depended upon it. "When they do, target the girl. I want her out of the way."

"What about Vitrius?"

"Leave her," Rey instructed. "There's nothing you can do to stop her anyway."

"Very well, my lord," the knight said with a slight bow.

"Now go," she ordered with a wave of her hand. "I have to get to my quarters."

"Your quarters, my lord?" the knight asked, perplexed.

"Never you mind why!" Rey snapped. "Just go!"

* * *

Ben and Ania slipped along the corridors in complete silence. Keeping their heads low, they avoided eye contact with any passerby. Much to Ben's relief, nobody seemed to pay much attention to them. While he had initially feared that Ania's inconspicuous outfit may have garnered them unwanted eyes, it seemed this wasn't the case. If anything, he was the one who looked more out of place with the heavy cowl he was wearing over his cream-colored Jedi robes.

"Are we close?" Ania asked in a whisper when Ben led them down another corridor.

"Think so," Ben responded out of the corner of his mouth. Rey had given him instructions on how to reach the crystal arrays, but the Death Star was like a labyrinth. The enormity of the structure was overwhelming to him. How could anyone ever possibly know where they were going on this station?

The minutes stretched on as they persevered farther and farther away from the hangar. With each passing step, Ben's appreciation for the magnitude of this mission grew. It only now dawned upon him how dangerous this operation was – for all of them, but for him especially. While he shared the tremendous responsibility of taking out one of the four massive crystal arrays with his mother and sister, Ben also had taken it upon himself to find Rey and get her off the station undetected. Neither Ania nor Leia knew about this additional mission, and as a consequence they hadn't accounted for it when they had devised their plan. There were so many ways this could go horribly wrong, and Ben had no idea if he would be able to improvise if such an eventuality came to pass.

"Ben!" Ania suddenly hissed, furiously poking his shoulder to get his attention. "Ben look!" Startled out of his apprehensive musings, Ben looked up at what Ania was pointing at. "That's got to be it, right?" she asked him.

About one hundred meters away from them down a dark hallway to their left was a thick vault door with a brightly printed warning label posted on either side. Much to his dismay, two stormtrooper guards were posted in front of the vault door with their blasters held to their chests. Seeing them, Ben and Ania jumped backward and out of sigh behind the wall.

"What do we do?" Ania asked, peeping out from behind the wall to see that they were all alone.

"Take them out," Ben rumbled, reaching to his belt.

"Ben, no!" Ania whispered, grabbing his arm. "Remember what Mom said?"

"There's no one around," Ben said, shrugging her off.

"But we could be heard!" Ania protested.

"Not if we're quick," Ben said.

"Ben, stop!"

Ben ignored her, however, as he stepped out from behind the wall and began walking purposefully toward the two stormtroopers. He knew there was no way he could mind trick these guards into letting them through that door. His experience back in the prison ward on the _Skywalker _had proven that guards could not be easily manipulated in that way.

"Ben, come back!" he heard Ania call after him, yet he paid her no heed. Instead, Ben pushed off his hood and activated the blue lightsaber of his namesake, Obi-Wan Kenobi.

"You there!" one of the guards yelled, both raising their blasters. "Stop!"

Ben took off running with Kenobi's lightsaber raised high. The stormtroopers opened fire, yet Ben deflected the bolts with ease. Panicked, the stormtroopers attempted to retreat, but they had nowhere to go. Just as Ben reached them, the one on the left smashed his fist against a control panel on the wall. Ben slashed his lightsaber at the two guards, silencing them, but not before an alarm system began to blare.

_Intruder alert! Intruder alert! Intruder alert!_

"Ben, what are you doing?" Ania asked, running after her with her own lightsaber activated.

Kicking aside the stormtrooper's bodies, Ben tilted his lightsaber horizontally and leaned forward, impaling the heavy door. "Help me out, would you?" he asked through gritted teeth as he began arduously cutting through the durasteel. "We've got to hurry."

"Ben, you idiot!" Ania scolded him, yet nevertheless came to his assistance. Stabbing her lightsaber into the bottom of the door, she began cutting upward in the opposite direction of him. "This was supposed to be a stealth mission, Ben," she said while the alarm system continued to ring in their ears. "This place is going to be swarmed with stormtroopers any second now!"

"Don't worry about it," Ben grumbled as he continued to cut through the door, a searing heat on his face as the durasteel melted away before his blade.

"Don't worry about it?" Ania repeated incredulously. "We're compromised, Ben!"

"No we're not," he insisted. "Just keep cutting."

The pair fell silent as they finished off the circular cut in the door. Pulling his lightsaber back, Ben deactivated the blade before kicking the door. The sawed out section fell away and crashed to the ground with a deafening crash.

"Get in," Ben said, pushing Ania on the back so that she would go first. Once she was through, Ben leaned down so that she could see his face through the gaping hole in the door. "Fuck up that crystal," he told her with a growl. "I'll hold them off here."

"What? Ben, no!"

"Go!"

Spinning around, Ben activated his lightsaber just in time to deflect a bolt which had been fired while his back was turned. Ben found himself acting on pure instinct as he fought off a barrage of blaster fire. Smoke billowed upward, rendering visibility in the hallway hazy, but Ben reckoned he that at least a dozen stormtroopers had arrived.

Pressing forward, Ben deflected bolt after bolt before thrusting his hand out and sending a pair of stormtroopers flying away into the side wall. A blaster bold grazed his shoulder during the brief moment when his lightsaber was lowered, but Ben refused to register the pain as he took off running toward his enemies with a roar. Reaching close range, Ben hacked away at the stormtroopers with reckless abandon. His blade whirred about as it tore through the armor and flesh without distinction. All conscious thought disappeared as the animal within was fully unleashed.

Here he ceased to be Ben Skywalker. Here he was as the descendent of Vader. The son of Vitrius. The master of destruction.

Ben couldn't be sure how much time had elapsed, but he soon found himself standing alone in the hallway, bodies strewn at his feet and an acrid stench wafting up to his nostrils. Lowering his weapon, Ben shakily pressed the trigger to deactivate the saber. He looked around at the carnage, his breathing heavy and his eyes wide. He had done this? How? With a start, he realized that this was the first time he had ever killed a person. And not just one. He had killed dozens with relative ease.

He forced himself to stow away his shock when he realized that the alarm system was still shrieking shrilly in the background. Clipping his lightsaber to his belt, Ben placed his hood back over his head and took off running down the hallway in the opposite direction of where he had sent his sister. She wouldn't need his help destroying the crystals, anyway. His sole priority now would be to find Rey.

* * *

Ania was frozen with indecision. The deafening sound of blaster fire beyond the door was permeated only by the occasional whir of a lightsaber, indicating that her brother was still alive and fighting. She couldn't just leave him! Surely he would need her help, right?

But they were here to do a job. Turning her head away from the door, Ania gasped when she took in the massive crystal array before her. A tusk of pure green kyber jutted outward from an opening in the floor. Following the crystal, Ania saw that it stretched on for dozens of meters toward the ceiling which she now recognized to be curved in the shape of the dish she had seen from afar on Poe's ship. She was inside the superweapon itself.

Just then, a stray bolt when whizzing through the hole in the door and collided directly into the crystal. Ania leapt back in shock, a strange buzzing sound reverberating throughout the whole room for a few moments after impact. Shaking herself into action, Ania activated her grandfather's lightsaber and stormed toward the crystal array. Raising her blade over her head, she hesitated for a moment as she gazed upon the glittering green kyber. It really was quite beautiful…

Angry with herself for having wasted time while Ben was fighting for his life, Ania let out a scream as she slashed her lightsaber down upon the crystal. The blade slashed through the kyber with a sickening crunch. Shards of pearlescent green kyber went flying as Ania hacked again and again at the array. She found herself screaming until her voice turned hoarse. Hatred coursed through her as she wreaked havoc upon the weapon which had been responsible for destroying her first ever home.

"Go to hell!" she shrieked, raising her blade one last time and swinging through another segment of the crystal. Lowering her blade, Ania took in a few ragged breaths before looking back up to see the damage she had inflicted upon the array. Debris and dust coated the shiny black floor. The mortally wounded array was sizzling and smoking at the points where her blade had sheered through the kyber. Ania suddenly felt a bit lightheaded as she realized what she had done.

_A lightsaber cannot be evil, Ben_, her mother had told her brother three years ago when they had begun their training. _He who wields it can be, but the blade itself is innocent._

This crystal wasn't evil. It wasn't the kyber's fault that it had been used for this purpose. Kyber was a holy substance, and she had just defiled it. Taking a step forward, Ania clipped her lightsaber to her belt and kneeled down. Her hand shook a bit as she reached out and grabbed a jagged hunk of kyber. Raising it, she tilted her head as she inspected her own reflection in the lustrous material.

Ania looked up sharply when she noticed that something was missing. The blaster fire had ceased. Eyes widening for fear of what that could mean, Ania clutched the kyber nugget in her left hand as she rushed toward the door.

"Ben?" she called out, stepping out into the hallway. "Ben, are you there?"

Ania raised her right hand to her forehead as she cautiously walked forward down the hallway. Smoke was everywhere, rendering visibility poor.

"Ben?" she called out once again. "Ben, are you –" Ania suddenly let out a startled yelp when she tripped on something. Regaining her balance, Ania looked down to see what she had stepped on. It was an arm. Just an arm, nothing else.

Spinning about, Ania saw that she was standing in the midst of a massacre. Bodies and severed limbs littered the floor. The fetid stench of death washed over her, causing her to turn green with nausea. She knew that smell Breathing out of her mouth, Ania shakily reached toward her belt and produced her comlink.

"Ben?" she asked, whispering into the device. "Ben, are you there?" She received no response, the static of the reception amplifying her anxiety so much so that she feared she was going to start hyperventilating again. Closing her eyes, Ania forced herself to take a deep breath through her mouth before trying again.

"Ben, come in," she pleaded.

"_Ania?_" a voice finally responded. It was her mother's. "_What happened to Ben?_"

"Mom, I think Ben's in danger," she said, her voice shrill with fright. "We got separated."

"_Ania, I need to you to stay calm,_" Leia told her. "_Everything's going to be okay._ _Where are you right now?_"

Ania swallowed hard and forced herself to calm down as her mother said. "I… I'm by the first array," she said. "I destroyed it."

"_Good,_" Leia said. "_I'm leaving the third right now. You need to take out the second one, okay? We'll find Ben after we're done. For now, we need to take out these four arrays, got it?_"

Ania nodded her head vigorously. "Got it," she said, doing her best to convey confidence.

"_Everything's going to be okay, Ania,_" Leia told her for a second time. "_Just stay calm and get to that second quadrant._"

With that, the feed cut out and Ania was alone again. Taking one more shaky breath, Ania returned her comlink to her belt and glanced down at the hunk of kyber in her left hand. She considered dropping it, but she found that she couldn't separate from it. Rolling her eyes at herself, Ania fastened the unwieldy rock between her hip and her belt. Patting it once to make sure it was secure, she turning around and carefully stepped over the stormtrooper bodies before taking off running in the opposite direction.

* * *

Rey was pacing back and forth agitatedly in her quarters, clutching her comlink tightly in her left hand. Her mask was rested atop the dresser, the empty helmet staring back at her intently as she crisscrossed the room.

"It's going to work," she told the helmet. "It's got to."

Just then, the comlink in her hand vibrated. Inhaling sharply, Rey wasted no time activating the device and raising it to her mouth.

"Yes?" she asked.

"_They've separated, my lord._"

Rey bared her teeth and pumped her fist in silent celebration. "Where is the girl now?" she asked, struggling to keep her tone flat.

"_On her way to the second quadrant._"

"Very good," Rey said, pressing a hand to her forehead as she resumed pacing. "Intercept her there."

"_Yes, my lord,_" the voice said. "_We will take care of her._"

"And Ben?" Rey asked. "Where is he going?"

"_It's unclear, my lord. He took the elevator._ _Should we intercept him as well?_"

"No!" Rey exclaimed. "I will handle this. Devote your full forces to the girl. She is much stronger than you think."

"_Very well, my lord._"

Rey deactivated the comlink and stuffed it back into her pocket. "I told you!" she yelled, spinning around and pointing at her helmet. "It worked! It worked!" Unable to contain her excitement, Rey began jumping up and down as she squealed with delight. She was so close now, she could taste it!

Shutting her eyes, Rey resumed her pacing with even greater gusto than before. "Come on Ben, come on," she murmured to herself, manically running her hands through her hair as she desperately sought to find an outlet for her jittery anticipation. "You're close, I can feel it."

One minute stretched into five and then five stretched on into ten. Rey's excitement began to wane as fear took over. Could something have gone wrong? Had Ben simply gotten lost, or had he been held up? Should she go to check? But she couldn't do that without arousing suspicion. All she could do was wait and pace, wait and pace, wait and pace…

A knock at the door prompted Rey to jump around toward the sound. Rey rushed off to answer, her boots sliding on the slick floor as she smashed her fist against the sensor. The door opened vertically, revealing the very person she had been so desperate to see.

"Ben!" she exclaimed, her voice high-pitched and girlish. She didn't care about that, however. With her brother, she didn't have to be Ren – she could be herself, whoever that was.

"Hey, Rey," Ben said, smiling warmly at her.

"Come in, quickly," she said urgently, reached out and grabbing him by the arm.

"But Rey –"

Rey dragged him into her quarters and closed the door with another mash of the sensor. Ben opened his mouth to object, but Rey cut him off when she all but leapt at him and hugged him as if her life depended on it.

"Ben, I've missed you so much," she said, hugging him so tightly that she began to grimace. Ben seemed unable to respond, perhaps because she wasn't allowing him to breathe. Maintaining the pressure around his ribcage, Rey slowly slid her right hand down his back. "We're finally together again," she whispered as she subtly slipped her hand into his pocket. Fishing around for a few seconds, Rey's fingers grasped his comlink and pulled it out.

"Rey," Ben finally managed to wheeze. "I can't breathe."

Palming the comlink, Rey finally pulled away from him. Placing her hands behind her back, she gave him a shy, endearing smile as smoothly dropped the comlink smoothly into her own pocket. "Sorry," she mumbled, summoning up a blush as she looked down. "I'm just so excited to see you."

"I am too, Rey," Ben told her. "But how about we focus on getting out of here?"

"Of course, but not yet," she said, shaking her head. "There's something I have to do first."

"Something you have to do? What are you talking about?" Ben asked, frowning.

"Don't worry about it, I'll be right back," Rey said. "You stay right here, alright?"

"Wait, Rey –"

"Great!" she interrupted. Standing up on her toes, Rey planted a strategic kiss on Ben's cheek to ensure that he wouldn't follow her. "This won't take long," she assured him upon stepping away. Amused by the surprised look on his face, Rey suppressed a smirk as she spun around and hurried out the front door.

Brushing the hair out of her face, Rey's expression sobered as she took off sprinting down the hallway. Taking a turn, she slowed down just enough so that she could reach into her back pocket and produce Ben's comlink. Grasping it firmly, her wrist twitched when she injected a course of electricity from her hand into the device, frying it. Dropping the destroyed comlink to the ground, Rey continued running onward toward the conclusion of her plan.

To Vitrius.

* * *

Ania had been running for what could have been a full mile, maybe more, when she came upon the second crystal array. Since she was inside the complex already, there was no heavy vault door for her to cut through. Instead, she walked right into the room to be greeted by a comparably enormous kyber crystal.

Pausing to catch her breath, Ania reached to her belt and unclipped her lightsaber. Wiping her brow, she raised the hilt and was just about to activate the blade when she froze. Looking up, her eyes widened when she saw that she had been surrounded during her brief moment of inattention. A dozen or so men dressed in black robes and armor had formed a ring around her, seemingly materializing out of thin air. She knew these men well from her time with Snoke; these were the Knights of Ren.

Thinking fast, Ania slipped her left hand around her back and toward the comlink which was dangling on her right flank where her lightsaber had been.

"Ania Skywalker," the knight directly in front of her said in a gravelly voice. "Do you remember us?"

Ania didn't answer. Fingers stretching out toward her belt from behind her back, she strained for a few moments before managing to unfasten to clip to her comlink. As if in slow motion, Ania watched as the comlink fell from her belt and down her leg. The diminutive device clattered to the ground with a soft pattering sound. The knights surrounding her didn't seem to notice that anything had happened as they each produced their weapons.

"You can't defeat us all, Skywalker," a different knight said. "There's no need to make this any more difficult than it has to be."

"Drop your weapon, girl," a third instructed. "Surrender yourself to us."

Ania's face twitched at this. Activating her lightsaber, she raised it up high to distract the knights as she lifted her leg. Hovering her foot over the comlink, she glanced surreptitiously toward the ground as she identified the button she needed to press to activate it. All was still for a tense moment as Ania readjusted her foot.

"Burn in hell," she spat. With that, she smashed her foot downward with the utmost precision. Activating the device with the sole of her boot, she shrieked as loudly as she could: "Help me!"

The knights all charged at her with their weapons held high. Kicking the comlink away, Ania propelled herself straight into the air just as the nearest knights swung at her. Twisting in midair, Ania landed gracefully on her two feet a few meters away. Watching her comlink skid across the floor, she cried out for a second time with more specific instructions. "I'm in the second quadrant!" she screamed. "Help!" Seeing what she was doing, the nearest knight stopped the comlink and crushed it under his boot. Just like that, Ania was all alone.

* * *

Leia had been violently slashing through her second array of the day with her lightsaber when her comlink buzzed in her pocket once again.

"_Help!_" she heard her daughter's voice cry.

Completing one last pass through the crystal, Leia deactivated her saber and dropped it to the ground as she frantically reached for her comlink.

"Ania? Ania?" Leia asked in a panic as she activated the device.

"_I'm in the second quadrant!_" Ania told her, her voice sounding a bit distant as if she wasn't speaking into the microphone. "_Help!_"

"Ania, I'm on my way!" Leia yelled. "Hold on!"

Leia spun around to rush upstairs toward the second array when she stopped in her tracks. Standing in her way was a young girl, her gaunt face stretched into a smirk. In her hands was Leia's own lightsaber, the shiny hilt glinting in the bright fluorescent lights as the girl twirled it around like a baton.

"Darth Vitrius," she said, chin raised high. "It's been a long time."

"Rey?" Leia asked, blinking rapidly in disbelief. "How are you… what are you doing here? Ben said –"

"Ben lied," Rey said, her voice bursting with mirth.

"Lied? He wouldn't –"

"Oh yes he would," Rey interrupted gleefully.

Leia gulped loudly as she extended her hand. "Give that back to me," she demanded, her tremulous voice failing to express the authority she had intended. "I need to go save my daughter."

"Your daughter cannot be saved," Rey spat.

Leia shook her head vigorously. "No, no, I can save her!" she said, taking a step toward Rey. "I need to save her!"

"There's nothing you can do," Rey said as she ceased flaunting Leia's lightsaber and placed it behind her back. "The Knights will kill her before you get to the stairwell."

"No!" Leia shrieked, utterly terrified by the assurance in Rey's tone. "Give me my lightsaber! Give it back!"

"On one condition," Rey said, holding up a finger.

"Give it to me now!" Leia shrieked. "Now! I need it now!"

Rey's smug expression morphed into a sneer. "I will give you your weapon in due time, Vitrius," she told her coldly. "Indeed, I will even allow your despicable daughter to live if you agree to my terms."

"I agree! I agree!"

Rey arched an eyebrow, clearly surprised by how easy it had been to convince her. "But you haven't even –"

"Call them off! Call them off now! I agree, damnit! I'll do anything!"

Rey scoffed at her weakness. "Very well," she said. With infuriating lethargy, Rey reached into her back pocket and fumbled around for a few moments before producing her comlink. Raising the device to her mouth, she made eye contact with Leia before begrudgingly pressing down on the button. "Stop the attack," she said.

This order was met with static for several long moments before a voice responded. "_But Lord Ren, she's been defeated._"

"No!" Leia gasped.

"Defeated how?" Rey asked, utterly insouciant.

"_She's disarmed, my lord. I can kill her right now._"

"Don't do it," Rey instructed. "That's an order. Defy it, and there will be consequences. Do you understand me?"

A long pause followed this threat "_Yes, my lord,_" the voice finally said.

"Keep her where she is," Rey said, staring directly at Leia. "Don't allow her to escape." With that, Rey returned her comlink to her pocket and gave Leia a sickening smile. "There you have it," she said. "Your daughter will live as long as you do what I say."

"And what do you say?" Leia asked, apathetic to whatever it was Rey planned to do with her.

"I need you to die," Rey told her. "And to take Sidious down with you."


	37. Rebirth

Chapter 37 – Rebirth

"I'm in the second quadrant! Help!"

Ania flinched when the knight crushed her comlink underneath his boot, the crunching sound sealing her fate. She had to fight off these twelve knights by herself until her mother arrived. Surely she would arrive soon, however. Ania just had to survive until then.

When she had been Snoke's slave, Ania had been forced to fight three or four knights at a time. Never had she been forced to fight off all of them, however. Even with her training, Ania knew she didn't stand a chance for long. This was not a fight she could win.

Nevertheless, she didn't allow herself to sacrifice an ounce of tenacity. She allowed her hatred to fill her as she fought off her attackers, swinging her blue lightsaber with unparalleled speed and power. She hacked off limbs, sliced through hilts, and in one case, decapitated a knight with a vicious upward swing.

There were simply too many of them for her to fight off, however. She retreated hastily toward the crystal array behind her. A blow to her flank caused her to falter, rendering her vulnerable when her lightsaber dropped for a fraction of a second. Panicked, Ania barely managed to duck away from a mace which would have struck her directly in the face. Swinging her lightsaber wildly, the knights jumped back, giving her some space to regain her footing.

"You want to kill me?" she screamed, spit flying from her mouth. "Come and kill me!"

The remaining knights glanced at each other for a brief second before resuming their advance. Refusing to retreat any longer, Ania let out a shriek as she charged directly at the knights. She slid on the floor and slashed her lightsaber horizontally, cutting a knight through the knee on the way past. Losing her momentum, Ania propelled herself into the air once more just as a pair of axes went swinging through where her abdomen had once been. Landing on her feet, Ania spun around just in time to parry a sickle-shaped vibroblade. Beginning to tire, Ania's form grew sloppier as she hacked away with increasing desperation. She found herself back in Snoke's throne room, utterly afraid and absolutely alone as she fought for her life. His massive shadow loomed over her as he began to cackle, her terror feeding his revelry.

Out of nowhere, a blade flashed across Ania's vision and her head whipped back. Staggering away, Ania raised a hand to her eye where she felt a stinging sensation. Unable to defend herself, Ania could merely watch in horror as a knight swung an axe at her left shin. The blade barely grazed her, but Ania shrieked out in pain before the blow even landed. She fell to the ground, paralytic pain pulsating up her whole leg. Winded when she landed hard on her back, Ania was unable to even scream as she writhed on the floor in silent agony.

A trio of knights stood over her as they watched her. The one directly above her raised his axe and rested it against his shoulder. He tilted his masked head, looking at something to Ania's left. He nudged his companion and pointed down. Gritting her teeth, Ania managed to turn her head to see what they were looking at.

"No!" she managed to say as the knight on her left kneeled down and scooped up her grandfather's lightsaber. "That's mine! That's mine!"

"Shut up," a knight growled before kicking her in the stomach. Blinded with pain, Ania curled up into a fetal position as she attempted in vain to crawl away.

"Hold up."

Through tear-stricken eyes, Ania looked up to see a fourth Knight of Ren approaching.

"Orders from Ren," he said. "She doesn't want us to kill her."

"What?" another asked, incredulous. "Why not?"

"An order's an order."

"But –"

"Take it up with her if you want."

"No, I wouldn't –"

"Then shut up and get the wounded down to the medbay. The rest of us will watch her."

Ania let her head fall back to the ground as she exhaled with relief. Rey had saved her! She must have heard what the knights had done and stepped in. Her mother would be arriving any moment and then she would truly be saved.

As the time stretched on, however, Ania began to doubt this. How long had it been since she had called for help? Ten minutes? Fifteen? Admittedly, fighting had a way of distorting time so it was difficult to know exactly how much had passed, but Ania was fairly sure that her mother should have been here by now. Was it possible she hadn't heard her? Could Ania have not actually succeeded at activating the comlink with her foot? Or maybe Leia had been held up somehow.

"What now?" a knight asked. Ania glanced up, having not moved from her spot on the floor. The phantom pain in her leg had refused to abate, but otherwise she felt alright. Her eye was still stinging a bit, but it was bearable.

"We're waiting for Ren's orders. Do you have a problem with that?"

"Why can't we just kill her?"

"Ren told us not to, you oaf!"

"But why not?"

Ania gulped in fear as the impatient knight walked over toward her, his mace scraping against the floor as he approached.

"Back down!"

Craning her head, Ania began to tremble when she met the knight's gaze. He was standing directly over her, casting a tall shadow as his helmet blocking out the light fixture above.

"She never said anything about maiming her," the knight said, raising his mace from off the ground. Ania held her breath as a terrible silence followed this sadistic statement. Surely the voice of reason would stop this maniac. Surely the other knights wouldn't condone this. Yet no one jumped to her defense. Ania felt frozen as she stared up at the viciously sharp mace hovering over her prone form…

Her foe was suddenly lifted up off his feet into the air. Startled, Ania scampered away when the mace fell out of his hands and clattered to the ground by her feet. The knight flailed his legs about wildly as he reached toward his throat and let out a guttural scream before suddenly going limp. Rolling away, Ania avoided the dead knight when he went collapsing to the ground, landing directly where she had been lying moments prior. Flipping over onto her chest, Ania looked up to see her savior.

It was not her mother like she had expected, but a hooded figure wielding a white blade. Standing by their side was a Stormtrooper who opened fire on the three remaining knights. Covering her ears with her hands, Ania felt herself get pushed aside toward the wall when her mystery savior swiped their hand. Glancing over at her, they ensured that she was out of danger before leaping into action. Ania watched in awe as the cloaked figure engaged the three knights with exceptional grace and deadly precision. Every strike was executed to perfection, their white blade acting as an extension of themself as the disposed of the knights with ease. Ania had only ever seen one other person exhibit this level of skill and power. Only one other could possibly compare.

"Ania! Ania, are you okay?"

The Stormtrooper dropped their blaster and came running over toward her. Tearing her eyes away from the person wielding the white lightsaber, Ania saw Finn emerge from beneath his helmet as he got down onto his knees by her side. Accepting his outstretched hand, she struggled upward into a sitting position with her back pressed against the wall.

"Finn," she said, looking away toward her savior who had since deactivated their blade and was now walking over toward them. "Who –"

"You're not hurt, are you?" Finn interrupted. "Your eye –"

"I'm fine," Ania insisted.

"Ania, you're bleeding," Finn told her, chewing his lower lip anxiously as he looked her up and down.

"Bleeding?" she asked, touching her brow which was still stinging dully. Pulling her hand back, she saw that her fingers were coated with glistening red blood.

"I've got to get you back to the ship," Finn said. "Poe's got a med kit there."

"No," Ania said, shaking her head vigorously. "I can't. Not yet."

"But Ania –"

"Finn, that's alright."

Looking up, Ania saw that the cloaked figure had arrived. Based on his voice and by the hint of a beard which she could discern from his otherwise shadowy face, she could safely assume that he was a man.

"But –" Finn began to object, but the man held up his hand to stop him.

"Allow me to tend to Ania," he said. "You return to the ship and make sure nothing happens to it."

"Are you sure?" Finn asked, sparing her one last concerned look.

"Don't worry, Finn," the man said reassuringly. "She'll be fine."

Finn nodded as he reluctantly got to his feet. "Alright," he said, nodding. "Promise me you'll get her back?"

"I promise," the man said. "Now go. Time is of the essence."

Finn hesitated a moment longer before placing his helmet back off and hurrying away. Pausing to pick up his blaster, Finn attached it to his holster and took off running toward the hallway. Returning her attention to the veiled man, Ania instinctively shied away from him when he kneeled down in front of her.

"Who are you?" she asked, struggling to make out any of his features from beneath the hood. "And where did you learn to fight like that?"

Ania thought she could make out the outline of smile on the man's tenebrous face. "I learned from the very best," he said.

With that, he reached up with both hands and pushed away his hood. The man who appeared before her had a kind face which was highlighted by sparkling blue eyes which crinkled around the corners as he smiled at her.

"Hello, my dear," Luke Skywalker said to his niece. "It's been far too long."

* * *

"Remember, you have to make it seem like you don't want to do this. He'll be suspicious if you agree too quickly."

Leia was staring blankly ahead at the broad double doors in front of her. Rey had led her away from the fourth quadrant and toward the throne room. The girl talked for the entirety of Leia's death march as she filled her in on the extent of her plans. Leia wished she would just shut up, however. It was a fairly simple plan, after all. All she had to do was allow the Sith to take over her body and then allow Rey to kill her. Ania would be safe if she did that. Sidious would be defeated and the war would be won. Yet nevertheless, Leia felt sick about the prospect. She had fought all her life to keep Sidious and the darkness at bay, but now at the very end she was going to allow him to corrupt her. Leia wasn't sure whether it was ironic, tragic, or perhaps even fitting. All she knew was that she dreaded it.

"You got it?"

Leia looked up languidly at Rey. She could sense the girl's excitement. It was clear that she had been looking forward to this day for a long, long time. Perhaps Leia could take solace in that. In her death, she would be freeing Rey from servitude. She would be ensuring that Sidious would never ruin another young girl's life again.

"I'm sorry about Han," Leia said hoarsely, reaching up and placing a hand on Rey's armored shoulder. Rey's eyes widened a fraction, caught off guard by this gesture.

"I…" Rey began to say before abruptly closing her mouth. "Enough talking," she snapped instead. "It's time to go."

Leia bowed her head and lowered her hand. Exhaling loudly, Leia closed her eyes and sought out the Force around her. _Father, _she thought, calling upon him just like she used to back when she was a child. _Be with me._

The doors opened with an ominous hiss. Looking up, Leia clenched her jaw and assumed a determined expression. Without waiting for Rey, Leia marched onward toward her fate. The throne room was unlike the one she remembered from the first Death Star. Rather than featuring a black throne atop an elevated platform, this room was empty save for a tall, circular table in the center of the room. Placed atop the table was an inconspicuous metal urn bathed in a dull red light which was emanating from beneath the grated floor. In the backdrop was a massive circular window which was designed in the pattern of the imperial insignia. Looking out the window, Leia could see that a battle was ensuing around the Death Star. It seemed the Republic Fleet had arrived.

"Stop here," Rey murmured to her, holding out a hand in front of her chest. "I will summon him." Leia watched as Rey stepped forward toward the table and genuflected before the urn. "Grandfather," she said. "I brought her to you."

A wispy black smoke billowed upward from out of the urn. Leia stiffened, recalling the very same substance which had attacked her and her daughter back on the _Eclipse _after she had killed Snoke. She and Rey both craned their heads as the smoke surged higher and higher before coalescing into a familiar figure.

"_You have done well, my child,_" the ghost of Darth Sidious crooned. "_Most exceptional._ _My faith in you has been restored._"

"Thank you, Grandfather," Rey intoned.

Sidious looked up from Rey and toward Leia. His eyes alone had any color, the irises burning a golden yellow while the rest of his body was a drab grey. Former master and apprentice looked at each other silently for several long moments as they snarled at one another. Finally, Sidious was the first to speak.

"_Darth Vitrius,_" he said, his guttural voice sickening to her ears.

"Master," Leia sneered.

Sidious narrowed his glowing eyes before returning his attention to Rey who was still kneeled by his feet. "_You may rise, my child,_" he told her. Rey did as he said, getting to her feet and bowing to her grandfather before stepping aside to allow Sidious and Leia to face each other directly.

"Look at how weak you have become," Leia jeered.

Sidious cackled at her insolence, the grating sound turning cacophonous as it echoed off the walls. "_I could say the same to you, my young apprentice,_" he told her. "_You've become like your father. You cling to your family like a crutch. So much unrealized potential has been wasted with you, Vitrius._"

"My father and I defeated you," Leia reminded Sidious. "We triumphed because of the strength of our bond, not in spite of it."

Sidious guffawed for a second time. "_The bond between father and daughter,_" he said, his voice dripping with saccharine derision. "_So strong. So fierce._" Sidious paused, his expression hardening as he dropped the sarcasm. "_You are nothing compared to the power of the dark side,_" he spat, the air chilling at these words. "_You are nothing compared to the power of the Sith!_"

Leia drew her lightsaber and activated it when Sidious' ghostly form exploded into a puff of smoke. The tendrils of his spirit surged around her, excluding Rey who was now situated on the outside looking in. Refusing to be intimidated by the raging maelstrom, Leia held her lightsaber steady as she assumed a ready position.

"_Darth Vitrius,_" a low voice growled.

"_Heir of Vader,_" another said.

"_Master of the Sith!_" a third pronounced.

"You can't touch me!" Leia yelled. "I defeated you before and I will defeat you again!"

The Sith collectively laughed at her confidence. Leia winced at the overwhelming sound and looked away when a gust of wind struck her in the face. Squinting, Leia looked back up to see that the storm had died down and the grey smoke had begun coalescing into several figures all around her. Spinning around, Leia's eyes widened as she recognized the Sith Masters whom Sidious had forced her to memorize back when she was a young girl. Bane, Zannah, Tenebrous, Plagueis, Vectivus, and several others whom she couldn't identify. They were all staring back at her hungrily, their luminous yellow eyes boring into her own whenever she met their gaze.

"_We have been waiting for you._"

Leia froze when she heard that voice. It was deep, rich, and intimately familiar. She hadn't heard that voice in over thirty years. Slowly turning back around, Leia saw two figures looming over her at the head of the procession. On the left was Sidious, his grotesque face alight with mirth as he looked down at her. To the right was an enormous figure dressed in a bulky suit of black armor. An angular helmet covered his face, yet Leia could still see his yellow eyes burning fiercely.

"Father," Leia said in a stunned whisper.

The helmet peeled away as the smoke undulated down his flowing cape, the youthful face of her father emerging from underneath. With the exception of his eyes, he looked exactly as she knew him, yet Leia felt as if there was something missing. His expression was cold and unforgiving. There was no glimmer of humor which Anakin so often exhibited.

"_This is what might have been,_" Sidious said, his voice rife with bitterness. "_Had Kenobi not interfered, it would have been Vader who would assume the mantle of the Sith. It would have been he who would have brought about the eternal supremacy of the dark side!_ _It was his bloodline, not mine, which was destined for greatness._"

"_Vitrius,_" Vader said, extending his ghostly hand to her. "_Join us. Complete what I could not._"

Leia shook her head and took a step back. "That's not my name," she said. "And Vader is not my father."

"_Your mind has been tainted with lies from the Jedi!_" roared a voice behind her.

"_You are the daughter of Vader, not Skywalker,_" Sidious told her, unable to pronounce that name without a vicious hiss. "_You belong to the dark side, not the light._"

"You don't control me anymore, Sidious," Leia said, raising her chin in defiance. "I will never join you." The Sith Masters growled at her intransigence. Empowered by their frustration, Leia raised her lightsaber and slashed it in front of her. "You can't corrupt me!" she bellowed, all thoughts of her arrangement with Rey disappearing as she was overwhelmed with hatred for Sidious. "I am Leia Skywalker! Daughter of Padmé and Anakin! I am the champion of the light, not the bearer of the dark!"

The Sith ghosts exploded back into smoke at her impassioned words. The cloud congregated once more above the table and began to churn angrily. Leia looked away for a second when she saw Rey waving her arms in an attempt to gain her attention. "What are you doing?" she mouthed.

Leia hesitated, her thoughts returning to her daughter. She couldn't be doing this! Rey would have Ania killed if Leia didn't follow through. Yet now that she was here, she found that she was unable to do it. She couldn't willingly embrace the Sith, even if it meant saving her daughter's life. What was wrong with her? Why couldn't she do this?

The tempestuous cloud reconfigured itself into the figure of Sidious once more. Floating toward her, Sidious pointed a finger at her contemptuously. "_For eighteen years you responded by the name of Vitrius,_" he growled. "_This identity you have created for yourself is a farce. I will tear it down and reveal your true self!_"

Leia bit back a retort as she lowered her lightsaber and extinguished the blade. She was breathing heavily as she looked between Rey and Sidious, the conflict before her tearing her in two.

"_Surely you must know that the war is lost,_" Sidious said as he continued approaching her. Leia held her ground, refusing to be intimidated by her incorporeal foe. "_This power of this station puts your pathetic fleet to shame._"

"That's what you thought before," Leia was unable to stop herself from saying.

Sidious bared his teeth at this comment. "_If you refuse to yield, I will have your mother's home world of Naboo destroyed,_" he said.

Aghast, Leia's mouth fell open in shock. Surely he was lying! Naboo was his home world as well! "You wouldn't –" she began to say, but Sidious cut her off.

"_And then I will kill your children,_" he spat. "_It will be slow, torturous, and cruel. They will be pleading for mercy before I finally give the order._" Leia grimaced and looked away as she conjured up an image of what Sidious was threatening. "_You don't want that to happen, do you?_" he asked. "_So much hardship can be avoided. All you have to do is take our hand. Fulfill your destiny and become one with the Sith!_"

Leia locked eyes with Rey as she took a shaky breath. She nodded subtly before bowing her head in resignation. "Okay," she said, her voice barely audible as she spoke to the floor. "I'll do it."

"_Good,_" Sidious crooned.

Leia looked up to see Sidious extending his hand to her. She eyed it warily as she froze up with indecision. Biting her tongue, Leia forced herself to think of her daughter as she clipped her lightsaber back to her belt. Her hand quivered, her body resisting her as she tried to raise it to meet Sidious'.

"_You belong with me, Vitrius,_" Sidious whispered. "_You have always belonged with the Sith._"

"No she doesn't."

Startled, Leia spun around toward the foreign voice. Behind her, she felt a powerful gust of wind as Sidious' ghost dissipated once more, causing her hair to whip forward and in front of her face. Brushing it aside, Leia squinted as she peered down the length of the room where she saw two shadowy figures approaching. As the duo grew nearer, they each activated a lightsaber: one white and one blue.

"No!" she heard Rey shriek, but Leia didn't pay her any heed, eyes widening in disbelief when she made out the faces of the two intruders. On the left was Ania. She looked a little worse for wear, a large gash on her forehead above her left eye, but all that mattered to Leia was that she was miraculously safe from the Knights of Ren. She couldn't spare Ania more than a moment's thought, however, since she was unable to look away from the man standing by her side.

"Leia," her brother greeted, bright blue eyes sparkling with endearment.

"Luke," she could only say in return.

To her left, Leia heard the distinctive sound of two more lightsabers being activated simultaneously. Tearing her eyes away from her brother, Leia saw Rey wielding a red and white blade in either hand.

"No!" she roared for a second time. "You can't be here!"

"Oh no?" Luke asked, quirking an eyebrow at the irate girl.

"You've ruined everything!"

"_Luke Skywalker,_" the collective voice of the Sith rumbled from above, causing Leia to turn back around where she saw the smoky cloud churning tempestuously above the urn. "_You don't belong here._"

"Here is exactly where I belong," Luke said, taking two steps forward so that he was next to her. "By my sister's side."

The Sith roared in outrage, the wind building so much so that the twins had to brace themselves and look away. The deafening sound grew shriller as it ricocheted off the walls, and Leia had to resist the urge to drop her lightsaber and cover her ears.

"_We require a host!_" the voice of the Sith bellowed before surging toward Rey.

"No! No!" she cried, wildly slashing her two lightsabers at the smoke which had completely encircled her. Her blades were entirely ineffectual, however. With one last horrific shriek, Rey dropped her weapons as the Sith plunged toward her mouth. She dropped to her knees, screaming silently as the smoke coursed down her throat and through her eyes and ears. Finally after several agonizing seconds, she fell down onto her back, evidently unconscious.

Luke and Leia glanced at each other, equally stunned by this turn of events. After a few moments of tense silence, Leia took the initiative – tentatively unclipping her lightsaber from her belt and activating the blade. Luke followed suit, raising his own white blade as the pair walked over toward Rey's prone form. Ania followed after them from a few feet away, her own lightsaber active in her hands as well. Coming to a stop on either side of Rey's body, Luke and Leia peered down at the girl with apprehension.

"Rey?" Leia asked cautiously, prodding her gently with her foot. "Can you hear me?"

Rey's eyes opened abruptly, causing Luke to gasp. Her once-brown irises were now a vibrant yellow, the intensity of which being so great that Leia felt utterly immobilized when she stared back at them.

"Rey?" Leia asked again, her voice hoarse with fear.

"The Sith have been reborn," Rey pronounced, still sprawled out spread eagle on the ground. "You shall pay."


	38. Never Again

Chapter 38 – Never Again

How long had it been? Twenty minutes? Thirty, perhaps? What was Rey doing? The longer they stayed on this station, the greater the odds were that they would be caught.

Standing up off the bed, Ben ran a hand through his hair as he walked over toward the dresser in the corner of Rey's room. A helmet was rested atop its shiny surface, its red-tinged visor reflecting his distorted reflection as he peered into it. Ben cautiously reached out and placed his hand atop the dome. Digging his fingers into the grooves, Ben picked up the helmet and held it up to eye level.

This was what Sidious did to people. He stole them away from the ones who loved them and did everything in his power to squash their identity by making them hide behind a mask. He did it with his mother and then he did the same thing with Rey and Ania.

Never again.

Snarling at the mask, Ben felt his pent-up rage bubble up to the surface. Choosing to embrace it rather than stow it away, Ben let out a guttural growl before thrusting the helmet into the wall with brutal force. The plaster of the wall cracked on impact and the metal of the helmet dented. Seeking absolute destruction, Ben winded his fist back and smashed the helmet into the wall for a second time. And then a third, and then a fourth, and a fifth, and a sixth…

Ben finally staggered away from the dresser as the helmet shards went tumbling down to the floor. Breathing heavily, Ben shook out his right hand as he stomped on the fragments. Never again, never again, never again!

Regaining control over himself, Ben stepped away from the pulverized remains of Rey's mask and fell back down onto the bed. That had felt good, but his underlying anxiety still remained. Where had Rey gone off to and why was it taking her so long to return? Surely she wouldn't jeopardize her one chance at freedom. Ben knew how desperately she wanted to escape. And what about Ania and Leia? Had they succeeded in taking out the crystal arrays? Perhaps he should contact them to see.

Ben fished around in his pocket for a few moments. Where was the blasted comlink? Checking his other pocket, Ben suddenly felt a jolt of panic. Leaping off the bed, he stuffed his hands into both pockets and turned them inside out. They were empty. What had he done with his comlink? He could have sworn it was right here in his right pocket…

Ben was nearly knocked off his feet when a colossal wave of darkness washed over him without warning. Stumbling, Ben fell forward and managed to brace his fall by grabbing onto the dresser with his right hand. He struggled to push himself back upright, his heart hammering in his chest as he did so. What had that been? Ben had never before felt such an odious and cataclysmic disturbance in the Force. Not even the destruction of Chandrila could compare in terms of sheer power.

"Ania," Ben whispered to himself, eyes widening when he sensed his sister's abject terror. "Rey!" he exclaimed, detecting an even greater wave of panic from her. His sisters were in danger! From what, he couldn't say for sure, but he had a pretty good guess.

Donning his cowl, Ben wasted no time jumping to action. Leaping over the mutilated helmet on the floor, Ben ran toward the door and out into the hallway in the direction of the disturbance.

* * *

"The Sith have been reborn. You shall pay."

With those chilling words, Ania was thrown off her feet by a crushing blow of invisible energy. She soared through the air and landed hard on her back about two dozen feet away from where she had been standing. Groaning in pain, Ania grimaced as she flipped over onto her chest. Her mind felt fuzzy and her eyes were out of focus, but she managed to make out a figure staring back at her – golden yellow eyes searing with intensity.

"Skywalker," Rey spat viciously before charging directly at her. Ania was unable to get to her feet as fear rendered her frozen. Just before Rey reached her, however, Ania saw in her peripheral vision another person running forward with a blue lightsaber raised. Red and white clashed with blue as Leia fought off Rey's brutal assault.

Rolling over, Ania finally managed to get back to her feet and draw her own weapon. She watched in awe for a few moments as Rey and Leia dueled with incomprehensible skill. The three blades twirled, slashed, and parried with nauseating speed and exceptional force. Shaking herself into action, Ania charged forward to assist her mother.

Ania was familiar with Rey's skills, having dueled the girl back on Jakku. At once Ania could tell that whoever it was wielding these two blades was not that same girl whom she had defeated in the desert. This foe was infinitely more talented, ruthless, and coordinated. Without her mother by her side absorbing the brunt of the offensive, Ania was sure she wouldn't have been able to last even a minute against such a powerful opponent.

She helped where she could, providing counterpunches to Rey's flank whenever Leia found herself vulnerable. It was clear to her, however, that she wasn't much more than a bystander in this duel. Rey barely even glanced at her as she pressed harder and harder against Leia. At one instance, Ania managed to penetrate Rey's defenses when she nicked her elbow. Incensed, Rey shifted her attention to Ania. Terrified, Ania backpedaled hastily before Rey's brutal blows. Unable to keep up, Ania felt a blade graze her thigh. Ania barely had a moment to register the pain when she was pushed away by a blow to her chest. Ania's lightsaber went flying out of her hand as she skidded across the floor and collided into the back wall with a thud.

Dazed, Ania craned her head to the left to see a figure with their back pressed to the wall. Disregarding her dizziness, Ania crawled over toward him. "Luke!" she said urgently, grabbing his shoulder and giving it a shake. "Luke, get up!"

"Huh?" the groggy Jedi Master said, his temple painted red with blood.

Looking away, Ania saw Leia doing her best to fend off Rey by the massive circular window. While Rey seemed to be in charge of the duel, she was clearly growing frustrated by her opponent's indomitable will and impenetrable defenses.

"Mom needs you!" Ania pleaded to Luke. "Luke, get up!"

Luke blinked a few times as he looked up to see his sister fighting for her life a dozen or so meters away. Eyes narrowing, Luke grabbed onto Ania's forearm and allowed her to help pull him up to his feet. Once he was fully upright, Luke looked around and found his lightsaber discarded on the ground a few feet away. Summoning it to his hand and activating it in one swift motion, Luke took off running toward the fight. Ania limped after him without any intention of joining in. It was clear to her that she would only serve as a hindrance to Luke and Leia if she tried to help. Besides, she was disarmed – her lightsaber having disappeared into the darkness when she had been cast aside by Rey.

Luke seemed to be entirely unaffected by the wound to his forehead. Leaping into the fray with his white blade held high, he helped turn the tide against Rey. Faltering in the face of Luke and Leia's combined efforts, Rey began to slowly retreat away from the window and toward the now-empty urn in the center of the room. Ania found herself smiling – tentatively at first, and then broadly soon thereafter – as she watched the Skywalker twins work together masterfully to push Rey back farther and farther. Their coordination was as seamless as it was devastating. The children of the Chosen One fought as one, their combined talents exceeding that of even the entirety of the Sith. What a sight to behold!

Ania's glee was proven immature, however, when Rey came to a stop before the urn and suddenly threw her red lightsaber directly at Leia's head. Clearly having not expected this, Leia dropped to the ground and only barely managed to evade the swinging saber which went crashing into the wall. Taking advantage of Leia's incapacity, Rey turned on Luke. Raising her now-free right hand, she unleashed a wave of lightning toward the unsuspecting Jedi. He managed to block the lightning with his lightsaber in front of his chest, but the strength of the wave caused him to lose his footing and fall down to the ground as well. Landing hard, Luke's head whipped back and smashed against the ground, rendering him unconscious.

"No!' Ania shouted, running toward her uncle without thinking.

"Ania, stop!" she heard her mother yell as she got back to her feet. Distracted, Leia was unable to defend herself as Rey pivoted with terrifying speed and swung her remaining white blade at her. Ania stopped running abruptly, frozen with fear as she watched the saber pierce Leia's shoulder and erupt out the other end.

"Mom!" she shrieked.

Leia staggered away, her lightsaber falling out of her hand as she raised her opposite hand to her shoulder. "Fool!" Rey boomed, her stentorian voice forcing Ania to cover her ears with her hands. "You should have chosen to join us! Now we have no choice but to destroy you."

Ania could do nothing but watch as Rey raised her hand and picked up her mother's limp body into the air. Stepping aside, Rey slashed her hand and sent Leia flying into the urn with smashed into dust. Leia's body imitated a rag doll as it rolled away, making no effort to defend herself. Regaining control over her limbs, Ania rushed forward toward Luke who was still sprawled out on his back.

"Luke! Luke!" she cried, grabbing her uncle's face as she fell to her knees. "Luke, wake up!" This time, however, Luke didn't respond to her pleas. Panicked, Ania looked up to see Rey slowly marching toward her mother's body a few meters away. Pushing aside the debris from the urn and the table with a casual swipe of her hand, Rey continued on, her white lightsaber leaving a trail of embers as she dragged it across the ground.

"Foolish Vitrius," Rey drawled, tilting her head as she came to a stop in front of Leia who had since managed to roll over onto her back. "Only now at the end do you understand."

With that, Rey raised her lightsaber high over her head to deliver the final blow. Ania tried to scream, but her throat was too raw. All she could do was watch in horror…

"Rey!"

Ania looked away sharply to see that the doors to the throne room had opened and a person was running toward them. While their figure was shadowy on account to the bright lights from the hallway behind them, Ania could recognize their burly frame anywhere.

"Ben," she said in tandem with Rey who had hesitated, her blade quivering a bit as she kept it suspended above her head.

Taking advantage of Rey's moment of hesitation, Ania took off running. Without a lightsaber, Ania blindly grasped at her belt and produced the hunk of kyber she had taken from the first crystal array an hour ago. Raising the jagged rock, Ania ignored her brother's calls for her to stop as she leapt at Rey. Spinning around, Rey held up her lightsaber as Ania went crashing into her. She felt a searing sensation in her abdomen as she pummeled the kyber crystal into Rey's temple.

"No!" she heard Ben yell.

Ania was lying on top of Rey with her knee pressed against the girl's pelvis. Pulling back, she reared back for another strike of the crystal when she glanced down. Rey's white lightsaber – the very one Ania had used to slay her father three year's prior – had penetrated her directly below the sternum. Stunned, Ania looked down at the grievous wound with wide eyes.

"Ania!"

Rey looked up at her with a smirk, dazed yet nevertheless triumphant. Ania's arm trembled as she kept the kyber raised. She could feel the life ebbing out of her as Rey thrust the saber deeper into her abdomen. Summoning her last ounce energy, Ania plunged the sharp point of her crystal shard down toward Rey's heart.

* * *

"Rey!" he cried, mere instants before she had swung her blade down at his defenseless mother. At his voice, Rey hesitated – her incandescent eyes darting up to meet his. For a moment all was still as Ben and Rey stared back at each other.

"Ben," she said, eyes softening a fraction.

"Ben!" another voice called out at the same time.

Turning toward the sound, Ben's eyes widened when he saw Ania charging at Rey with a jagged chunk of kyber clasped in her right fist.

"No!" he screamed as Ania went barreling head onto Rey, smashing the younger girl in the temple with the crystal. A flash of white caught Ben's eyes as Rey desperately tried to defend herself. The sequence unfolded in slow motion as Ben watched Rey's lightsaber tear through Ania's stomach and out her back as the tangled pair crashed down to the ground.

She hadn't seemed to notice. Pinning Rey down to the ground with her knee, Ania pulled herself upright and raised her bloodied crystal to deliver another blow. As she did this, however, she glanced down, unable to miss the humming white blade which had skewered her. Evidently unfazed, Ania disregarded him as he cried out her name. Striking downward, Ania impaled Rey's chest with the sharpened edge of the crystal. Blood spurted up and sprayed Ania in the face as she suddenly went limp and collapsed to the ground by Rey's side.

Ben tried to rush forward but was stopped dead in his tracks when a gust of black smoke erupted out of the gaping wound in Rey's chest, the accompanying tidal wave of wind knocking him off his feet and flinging him across the room toward the doorway which had since sealed itself shut. He slid across the floor and smashed into the door. Sparing no thought for the dull pain in his back, Ben staggered to his feet as quickly as he was able. His heart hammered in his ears as he sprinted forward, scarcely able to breathe as he stared at the horrific sight before him.

"No, no, no!" he wailed, falling to the ground before Rey and Ania's motionless bodies. They were lying on their backs right next to each other, their eyes glassy and their faces smeared with blood. Hands shaking violently, Ben reached out toward Rey's and pulled out the green kyber crystal which was still impaled in Rey's chest. Throwing the bloodied crystal aside, Ben placed both of his hands atop the wound in a desperate attempt to stop the bleeding.

"Ben," he heard his mother's raspy voice call out.

"Mom!" he yelled, head swiveling around to see her rousing a few feet away, her left arm hanging limply by her side. "Help! You have to help!"

"Ania?" she asked.

Ben looked away toward Ania, his eyes gravitating to her own wound which was cauterized on account to the lightsaber blade. Taking one hand off of Rey's chest, he pressed it atop Ania's stomach, as if covering up the gaping hole would magically make her well again.

"You're not dead, you're not dead," he pleaded, tears streaming down the bridge of his nose as he struggled to maintain the pressure on the two wounds. If only he could stop the bleeding, Rey would be fine. And Ania, she would be fine too! She couldn't be hurt! She was invincible! She couldn't be… she couldn't possibly…

"Ben."

Ben craned his head up to see his mother standing over him. Her face was covered in cuts and bruises and she seemed to be heavily favoring her right side. Looking past him, her eyes met Ania's empty ones.

"Save her!" he begged. "Do something! Please!"

"Ania," Leia whispered, voice fraught with despair. Setting herself down by Ben's side, she gingerly reached out and grabbed Ben's hand and dragged it away from the wound to Ania's abdomen.

"You can heal her, right?" Ben asked frantically as he returned his free hand to Rey's chest and pressed down firmly, blood pooling up around his fingers as he seemed unable to cease the flow. Leia didn't answer him, her lower lip trembling as she raised her hand up from Ania's stomach toward her face. Cupping her cheek, she leaned down and planted a kiss on her daughter's forehead. "Mom!" Ben cried. "You can save her!"

Leia shut her eyes tightly, her face writhen with anguish as she pulled away. A few tears escaped, cascading down her cheeks and onto Ania's body. "I can't," she said, her voice practically inaudible as she shook her head. "She's gone."


	39. Absolution

Chapter 39 – Absolution

Tears blurred Leia's vision as she looked down at her daughter's lifeless face, her whole body wracked with tremors as she fought against the urge to break down completely. She wanted to sob, to cry, to scream, but she knew she couldn't. Not with Ben at her side, pleading with her to do something. To do anything.

But there wasn't anything to be done. Ania was gone. It was horrifically unfair. Sidious had vowed to destroy Leia and that was exactly what he had done. Killing her would have been too easy – no, he understood her far too well to do such a thing. He had instead taken Ania from her – her own daughter, the girl into whom she had poured her entire soul. He had wrenched her out of her mother's arms for the second time, and this time Leia knew she could never get her back.

She bowed her head, eyes shut and jaw clenched so as to hide her grief from Ben. Her injured left shoulder was ablaze with pain, but Leia ignored it as she leaned forward and wrapped her good arm around Ania's neck. Her daughter's head lolled backward as Leia pulled her up. Holding the back of her head steady, Leia pulled Ania's body into her own, embracing her daughter as tightly as she could with her one arm. She nestled her forehead against Ania's collarbone, tears flowing freely as she hid her face from Ben.

She felt a hand on her back, compelling her to look up. With a sniffle, Leia reluctantly released her daughter and gently laid her back down on the ground. Craning her neck, Leia saw her brother standing over her, his eyes dry but his expression pained. Unable to hold it in any longer, Leia let out a strangled sob as Luke kneeled down next to her. Placing an arm around her quaking shoulders, Luke allowed her to collapse into his chest as she wept uncontrollably.

"He took her from me!" she wailed. "He killed her, he killed her!"

Luke placed his chin atop her head as he stroked her hair gently. Her eyes were shut tight, yet the image of Ania's dead face was burned into her retinas. It may have been a minute later, Leia couldn't tell for sure, but Luke finally interrupted her when he gave her shoulder a squeeze and whispered in her ear.

"Leia," he murmured. "Leia, look."

"I don't want to look," she sniveled.

"_Leia._"

Leia bit her tongue and shook her head, refusing to open her eyes. Luke gave her no choice, however, when he pushed her away from him. She winced, having forgotten about her injury as she wiped her eyes against her left sleeve. Biting down on the fabric, she reluctantly opened her eyes. Ania's body was still on the ground in front of her next to Rey's. Ben had given up trying to apply pressure to the gaping wound to Rey's chest and was kneeling down beside her with his blood-stained hands raised. What caught Leia's eye, however, was the shimmering figure standing a few feet away on the opposite end of the two girls' bodies.

"_Look at me, Leia._"

She did as the voice asked. Languidly raising her head, she looked away from her daughter's body to see a bright blue ghost looming above her. She furrowed her brow, utterly befuddled by what she was looking at.

"Mother?" she asked, her mind feeling slow and her speech slurred.

The luminous ghost of Padmé Amidala smiled weakly at her daughter, her eyes bright with tears of her own. She was dressed in the plain white dress which she had been wearing when they had first met, but her face was far more youthful than it had been then.

"_It's time, Leia,_" her mother told her.

Stowing away all the questions she had, Leia shook her head vigorously. "You're not taking her," she whimpered. "You're not taking my daughter from me."

Padmé kneeled down to the ground and brushed her glowing hand against Ania's still cheek. "_I would never do such a thing,_" she said softly.

"Then why are you here?" Leia asked, her voice cracking.

Padmé didn't respond, shifting her attention away from Ania and toward Rey. Extending her hand, she replicated the gentle motion, fingernails scraping against the dead girl's face as she sighed heavily. "_I am merely the messenger, my dear,_" she told her. "_Your father is waiting._"

Leia swallowed hard and glanced over at Ben who was staring at his grandmother with wide eyes. "Take me to him," she demanded, returning her attention to her mother's ghost.

"_Leia, you can't –_" Padmé began to say, but Leia cut her off.

"I won't let him take her from me," she interrupted. "I won't. Do you hear me?"

"_There's nothing to be done, Leia,_" Padmé tried to tell her.

"There's always something to be done," Leia countered. "You of all people should know that."

Padmé pursed her lips as she met Leia's resolute gaze. "_Are you sure?_" she asked after a long pause.

Leia nodded at once. "I know it's possible," she said. "He took me there once before."

Her mother blinked a few times before acquiescing. "_Very well,_" she said.

"Mom, what –"

"It's okay, Ben," Leia assured her son, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I'll do what I must."

"Leia –"

"Luke, please," she interrupted, turning toward her brother and holding up a hand to him. "I know what I'm doing."

Luke hesitated, his eyes drifting down toward Ania's body before nodding. "Alright," he said hoarsely.

Leia considered him for a few moments before turning back to Padmé. "I'm ready," she said, as strongly as she was able considering the circumstances. Clasping Ania's cold hand in her own, she waited for her mother's instruction.

"_Take the girl as well,_" she told her, standing back upright.

Leia's mouth curled involuntarily into a snarl. "Absolutely not," she spat. "She doesn't belong there."

"_This is not negotiable, Leia,_" Padmé said sternly.

Leia grit her teeth and looked away toward Rey. "Fine," she said bitterly. Grimacing with pain when she reached out with her injured arm, Leia grabbed Rey's forearm roughly, her fingernails digging into the flesh as she applied a vice-like grip. "Happy?" she asked, biting her tongue to relieve the pain in her shoulder.

Padmé nodded once as she leaned down and placed a hand on Leia's good shoulder. For a moment, nothing seemed to happen. Having expected the journey to be instantaneous, Leia glanced around in confusion. As she did so, however, she noticed that her surroundings were beginning to blur. Ben and Luke's figures were fuzzy and out of focus. A moment later, they were gone altogether and the world around her slipped away into darkness.

She had become one with the Force.

She had entered her father's realm.

* * *

Ania's eyes flew open with a start. Inhaling sharply, she felt her whole body unclench as a warm sensation percolated upward from her toes all the way up to her head. She patted herself down, startled to find that she felt nothing – no pain, no doubt, no worry. Nothing. She simply was.

Blinking a few times, Ania's vision cleared as she locked eyes with an exceptionally beautiful woman bathed in blue light. "_Mom_?" she asked cautiously. "_Is that you?_"

The fair-skinned woman laughed softly, the plangent music causing Ania to smile. "_Not quite,_" she told her.

"Ania! Oh, Ania!"

Spinning around, Ania was startled to see her real mother rushing toward her. Unlike the other woman, Leia was not glowing blue, appearing exactly as Ania knew her to be. For some reason she found that to be odd. What was she doing here?

Leia came to a stop when she saw Ania's perplexed expression. "Ania?" she said, hands raised toward her face. "You're –"

"_She is with us now, Leia._"

Once more, Ania swiveled her head toward a familiar voice. Standing beside the woman whom Ania had seen first was Anakin Skywalker himself. Her grandfather looked especially grim, his lips pursed and his brow furrowed as he looked back at Leia. Standing to Anakin's left was Rey, she too painted in a blue hue, although considerably less vibrantly than the two ghosts to her right.

"_You shouldn't have come,_" Anakin said to Leia, his voice shockingly dour. "_You don't belong here._"

And where was here? Ania glanced around curiously at the realm in which she found herself. Her surroundings were empty, nothing but blackness extending infinitely in all directions. A gentle hum permeated the emptiness, however, giving Ania the distinct impression that they weren't as alone as it seemed.

"I had to come," Leia said, chin raised in defiance. "You know I had to."

Anakin frowned but didn't offer a retort. Instead, he turned his gaze to her, his surly expression morphing into a strained smile. "_Ania, my girl,_" he greeted.

"_Grandfather_," she said, beaming at him.

"_I believe you have something of mine,_" he told her.

Perplexed, Ania shared a glance with her mother. "_I do?_" she asked.

Anakin's smile broadened as he took a few steps toward her. Rey and the kind woman remained stationary, watching as Anakin came to a stop between the two pairs. "_My lightsaber,_" he said to her.

"_But I lost it –_"she began to stay before stopping when she patted her belt. There it was, suspended from the loop as if it had been there all along. While she had no idea how it had returned, Ania didn't register any surprise at finding it there. It was as if she had known without knowing. Unclipping her grandfather's weapon from her belt, she spared it an appreciative look before extending it to its rightful owner.

"_Thank you, my dear,_" Anakin said, accepting the offering. "_This will help a great deal._" Activating the weapon, Anakin smiled up at the bright blue blade for a few moments before waving his left hand. The blade disintegrated into millions of sparkling pinpoints of light. With another flick of his hand, Anakin dispersed the embers outward, illuminating their surroundings. The kyber fragments coalesced once more into a ring which gently swirled about them. Ania watched the spectacle with wonderment, utterly transfixed by the spiraling halo of blue light.

"_It's beautiful,_" Rey said for the first time, her voice small and childlike.

"_Indeed_," Anakin agreed as he admired his work.

"Don't ignore me, Father," Leia demanded, causing Anakin's smile to falter. "You know what I need from you."

"_There's nothing I can do,_" he said somberly.

"Yes there is," Leia said, obstinate as always. "I know there is."

Frustrated, Anakin lowered his head and rubbed his temple wearily. "_I won't allow it,_" he said.

"I can't accept that, Father."

"_You have no choice in the matter,_" Anakin snapped, the ring of light beginning to churn faster when he swiped his hand angrily. "_This is my realm, not yours._"

"You have no right to interfere. Ania is my child, not yours."

"_And you are my child!_" Anakin countered passionately. "_I will not permit whatever it is you are proposing._"

Leia growled in frustration as she turned toward the young woman behind Anakin. "Mother, please!" she exclaimed. "Tell him!"

Ania's eyebrows shot upward as she looked at the beautiful woman with heightened interest. So this was her grandmother? Why, yes of course! She had always known that, hadn't she? She and her daughter looked so much alike, after all.

"_Leia, what's done is done,_" her grandmother said gently. "_Your daughter is here now where she belongs._"

"She doesn't belong here!" Leia protested.

"_It's okay, Mom,_" Ania said blithely. "_I like it here._"

"No!" Leia roared, face turning red with anger. "She's going back! I'll take her place if I need to!"

Anakin and Padmé looked at each other, their expressions solemn as they collectively sighed. "_It doesn't work that way, Leia,_" Anakin explained to his daughter. "_You cannot simply sacrifice yourself so that your daughter can live._"

"Why not?" Leia asked. "You did it, didn't you?"

"_That wasn't the same, and you know it._"

"Then tell me, damnit!" Leia exploded. "Tell me what I can to do!"

Anakin stared back at his daughter for a long while, his eyes darting back and forth as he absorbed every detail of her furious expression. "_No matter how much you've changed, I can't ever see you as anyone but my little girl,_" he said finally. "_I know it's wrong,_" he added quickly before Leia could object. "_I know it's not true. But I have a hard time letting go._"

"So do I," Leia said, her vehemence fading.

Anakin chuckled humorlessly. "_You and I… we're stubborn,_" he said.

"_You can say that again,_" Padmé grumbled as she took a few steps forward and took her husband's hand. Anakin wiped his eyes and gave her a watery smile. "_Go on, Ani,_" she said, gesturing to Leia with her head. "_Let her._"

Anakin exhaled slowly as he nodded. "_There's something I have to do first,_" he said. Giving Padmé's hand a squeeze before releasing it, he turned around to face Rey. "_Rey, Ania,_" he said, glancing over at her as well. "_If you would accompany me._"

Ania instantly complied with the request in spite of her puzzlement. Drifting away from her mother's side, Ania followed after Anakin as he walked off into the darkness. Falling into step with Rey, the two glanced at one another briefly before returning their attention to their guide, his footsteps leaving soft blue indentations in the featureless ground as they plodded along. For the first time in her life, Ania felt no resentment toward the younger girl. Whether it be because of her relation to Sidious or because of how much unwarranted attention she received from Ben, Ania had always disliked Rey, the extent of her distaste ranging from benign at the beginning to fervent at the very end. Now, however, she felt nothing at all when she looked at her. Blissful apathy seemed to be her defining emotion in this strange place.

Behind her, Ania heard Leia and Padmé following after them as they pushed deeper into the unknown. The ring of kyber had since dispersed and the nebulous cloud of light was now drifting and twisting as it surrounded their procession. Ania craned her head, eyes sparkling as she marveled at the majestic display. She felt so light and free – the qualms, anxiety, and pain associated with the real world having dissolved and dispersed, much like Anakin's lightsaber had.

"_Where are you taking us?_" Ania asked her grandfather, eyes still pointed toward to the sky.

"_Toward absolution,_" Anakin said vaguely. Perplexed by this response, Ania looked down from the coruscating cloud above to see that her grandfather had stopped walking and had turned toward them.

"_Absolution?_" she repeated, her and Rey coming to a stop as well.

"_For you, that is,_" Anakin said. "_For Rey, I suspect it might be something different._"

"_What would that be?_" Ania asked on Rey's behalf.

"_Home,_" Anakin explained with a flourish of his hand. Ania gasped when the kyber was expelled outward in every which direction. The twinkling points of light floated back down to the ground and began to coalesce identifiable shapes. Ania twirled around as she watched the scene unfold. Seeing her mother approaching, Ania smiled broadly.

"_Look!_" she exclaimed to Leia who for some reason didn't seem to share her enthusiasm. "_Isn't it incredible?_"

Leia's eyes widened a fraction as she stared at something beyond Ania. Curious, Ania spun back around to see what her mother was looking at. A cloud of blue exhaust billowed upward as a shimmering ramp began to unfurl. How delightful! Here was a ship made of light! And not just any ship at that. She knew this ship all too well.

"_Dad?_" she heard Rey say, her voice hoarse with incredulity.

Emerging from the top of the ramp was another blue tinged figure. Ania's vibrant expression faltered, inhaling sharply as she watched the man descend down from the _Millennium Falcon_ and toward his two daughters.

"_There you are,_" Han said casually as he sauntered off the ramp. "_I've been waiting for you two._"

"_You have?_" Ania asked, her throat feeling constricted and her chest tight.

Han came to a stop a few feet away from them. He placed his hands on his hips and smiled at each of them, the left corner of his lips curling upward as his eyes sparkled warmly. "_You've both grown up so much,_" he commented. "_You especially, Rey. You were a whole head shorter when I saw you last._"

Ania glanced over at Rey who she saw was wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. "_Did I let you down?_" she asked Han, sniffling.

Han's expression sobered as he shook his head. "_No, Rey,_" he said simply. "_You didn't._"

"_And what about me?_" Ania managed to ask.

Once again, Han shook his head. "_You are a remarkable young woman, Ania,_" he told her. "_Why would I ever be disappointed in you?_" Ania looked down sharply, unable to meet Han's proud eyes. Why was he looking at her like that? How could he even call her his daughter after what she had done to him? After what she had done to Rey?

"_You know why,_" she mumbled. "_Don't pretend like you don't._"

Ania stiffened when Han took a step toward her, their orientation symmetrical to how they had been on the landing pad three years ago when she had killed him. Han reached out to cup her cheek just like he had that day. This time, however, Ania didn't recoil. The twinkling substance of her father's glowing fingers brushed against her skin, a pleasant warmth spreading across her cheek and imbuing her with a sense of serene calm.

"_I forgive you,_" her father told her. "_Ania. My girl. I forgive you._"

Ania let out a muffled sound somewhere in between a laugh and a sob. It was undignified, but Ania couldn't bother to care. Her eyes watered up as a smile graced her lips. Her father shared her emotion, brushing away a tear from her cheek as he shed one of his own. She began to laugh, giddiness bubbling up as she felt a great burden be lifted off her shoulders. Up until now she hadn't even realized it had been there, the terrible load weighing her down like a bag of bricks. Now it was gone, whisked away by three simple words.

"You feel it now, don't you?" her mother asked from behind her. Shaken out of her euphoria, Ania looked around to see Leia approaching, hands clasped in front of her. "Freedom," she said with an unmistakable pang of wistfulness.

Ania nodded at her mother. "_I've never felt so alive,_" she said, the irony not lost on her.

Leia pursed her lips at this comment. A long silence passed before she finally spoke. "Tell me what I have to do," she requested of her father, her voice firm with resolve.

Anakin didn't respond for a while, a silence even longer then the last stretching on and on. Ania didn't mind, however. Time didn't seem to mean much to her in this place. "_Are you absolutely sure?_" she finally heard him ask from somewhere behind her.

"Tell me," Leia said without even bothering to answer the question.

"_Very well,_" Anakin sighed. Ania turned away from her mother and toward Anakin who was standing next to Padmé a few meters away. "_You must use your life force to bond your daughter back to the material realm,_" he said. Ania and Leia both frowned, puzzled by this esoteric statement. "_You must choose something or someone to bond her to. It will only work, however, if the bonds are…_" He trailed off, seeking for the right word. "_Buttressed,_" he resorted on saying._ "Buttressed with another mutual bond, that is._"

"I have no idea what any of that means," Leia said bluntly, Ania snorting in agreement.

"_The answer is staring you right in the face,_" Anakin said, extending his hand to the left. Ania and Leia both followed the gesture toward Rey, who seemed unsure as to why everyone was suddenly looking at her.

"The girl? What about her?" Leia asked.

"_Her name is Rey,_" Han contributed with a growl.

"Rey," Leia said, holding up a hand apologetically. "What's so special about her? Besides the fact that she killed my daughter, that is."

"_Rey is not responsible for any of this, Leia,_" Padmé said gently.

Leia looked as if she wanted to object, but stopped when she met her mother's pointed glare. Gritting her teeth, she shook her head and dropped the issue. "Just tell me, Father," she said. "No more riddles."

"_Have you ever wondered why your son's bond with Rey was so strong?_" Anakin asked.

Leia threw up her hands in the air and agitatedly paced away a few steps. "Get to the point already!" she exclaimed.

"_Have patience, Leia,_" Anakin said sternly. "_I am telling you everything you need to know._"

Back turned to them, Leia placed her hands on her hips and exhaled loudly. "Fine, I'll bite," she said. "Why? You had something to do with it, I take it?"

"_I did,_" Anakin affirmed. "_It was I who bridged their minds, although they were solely responsible for strengthening their bond as much as they did._"

"What does this have to do with anything?" Leia asked, turning back toward her father.

"_Ania and Rey share two things: their brother and their father,_" Anakin explained. "_Now you, as their mother, will bond them to each other._"

Leia stared back at Anakin incredulously for several long moments. "As her mother?" she repeated, aggrieved. "She is not mine!"

"_Nor was she Han's,_" Anakin reminded her. "_He chose to accept her as his own. You must do the same._"

"Never!" Leia roared. "She's Sidious' creation!"

"_And you are not?_"

Leia froze at that, her face drained of whatever color was left. "I… I am Leia Skywalker," she said, voice trembling. "I am your daughter, not his."

Anakin took a few steps toward Leia and Ania strategically backed away so father and daughter could be alone with one another. "_You are Leia Skywalker,_" he said so softly that Ania could barely hear. "_But you are also Darth Vitrius. You and Rey are just alike._"

"She. Is not. Mine."

Anakin's shoulders sagged in dejection. "_If you will not accept her, then there is nothing I can do._"

"_Leia,_" came Han's voice. "_When I died, you promised me that you would save our daughter._"

"Our real daughter, not her!" Leia exclaimed, spinning toward Han and stomping her foot.

"_They're one and the same,_" Han told her calmly. "_One cannot live without the other._"

"_They are intertwined,_" Anakin contributed.

Leia faltered, her lower lip quivering as she looked back and forth between her husband and her father. "Are you disappointed in me?" she finally asked, seemingly to both of them.

"_No,_" Han said at once. "_We love you._"

"_No matter what,_" Anakin added.

Leia nodded and bowed her head. "Will I… will I join you?" she asked in a small voice.

"_It will be as it was meant to be,_" Anakin said, eyes shining with tears.

"_Almost,_" Padmé amended.

"_Almost,_" Anakin agreed hastily as he wiped his eyes.

"Almost," Leia said as well as she looked up. Taking a moment to meet both Anakin and Han's respective gazes individually, Leia walked between them and toward Ania. She reached out with trembling fingers and Ania raised her hand to meet her. Flesh met phantom, and Leia smiled wanly at their incomplete union. "Luke will be there for you," she said hoarsely. "He will… he will help you like how he helped me."

Ania nodded, struggling to find the words. "_Mom, I –_" she began to say, but Leia cut her off.

"I know," she said, smiling. "I know."

Out of the corner of her eye, Ania saw Anakin wave his hand. Their sparkling blue surroundings dissolved, the pinpoints of which the scene was composed dispersing into the darkness. Looking to her left, Ania saw that her father was gone as well, faded away and out of sight.

"_Rey,_" she heard Anakin say. "_Come here._"

Ania craned her head behind her to see Rey hesitantly walking toward her and Leia. Ania felt her mother tense up, but Ania smiled warmly instead. Extending her other hand to Rey, she beckoned the young girl forward.

"_Take her hand, Leia,_" said Padmé.

Leia did as mother asked, although not without considerable hesitation. Leia's two hands were now extended toward both Rey and Ania, together yet not really touching.

"_Goodbye, my children,_" came Anakin's voice, seemingly emanating from all around them.

As Ania glanced around, she suddenly registered her mother's grip on her hand. Looking back down, she saw that she was no longer glowing with that ethereal blue light. The floor seemed to give out on her, and Ania found herself descending. She didn't panic, however. Closing her eyes, she allowed herself to be transported.

She was returning home.

* * *

Ben and Luke were standing side by side, watching their respective sisters glumly. The ghost of his grandmother had long since vanished, but the three forms of Leia, Ania, and Rey still remained. Ben got the distinct impression that they weren't really here at all, however. The three of them were frozen with their eyes shut. He had no idea what was happening, but he didn't bother asking Luke what was going on. Luke knew no more than he did, after all.

"Your hands… don't you want to clean them off?" Luke finally asked.

Ben glanced down at his hands which were caked with dry blood. "No," he said faintly.

A long silence passed before Luke reached up and placed a hand on Ben's shoulder. Languidly, Ben tore his eyes away from the three women and toward his uncle. "Ben, I'm so sorry for…" he said, trailing off as he glanced down. "Well, for everything."

"Me too," Ben agreed, bowing his head.

"I should have listened to you," Luke continued. "I was foolish. Unwise."

Ben snorted in agreement. "I don't blame you, if that's what you're afraid of," he said.

Luke gave his shoulder a squeeze before lowering his hand. "I appreciate that, but I still owe you an apology. All of you."

"Just being here is enough," Ben said with a sigh. "Speaking of which, how did you get here?"

Luke chuckled feebly at the question. "I was wondering when you were going to ask that," he said. Ben gave him a look, telling him to continue. "I blasted my way through the shields," he explained.

"With what? An X-wing?" Luke nodded. "Where did you get that?"

"How do you think I got to Ahch-To in the first place?" Luke asked.

"Oh," Ben said, looking away. The pair were silent for a few moments, each of them lost in their own thoughts. "What made you do it?" Ben asked finally. Luke didn't answer, bowing his head and pinching the bridge of his nose. "Was it her?"

Luke covered his eyes with his hand for a moment before looking back up at Ben. "I let her down," he said.

Ben decided not to contradict his uncle. "I let my mother down to," he told him. "I did the same thing you did. I abandoned my sister and she got hurt because of it." Luke pursed his lips and glanced down at Leia. "All you can do is move on," Ben advised. "Feeling guilty won't solve anything."

Luke nodded and exhaled slowly. "You are wise beyond your years, Ben," he said. "And I am foolish in spite of mine."

Unsure of what to say to this, Ben decided to drop the subject there. Silence reigned as the brothers watched their unresponsive sisters, dread and despair augmenting with each passing moment. What if they never woke up? What if Leia wasn't able to return and Ania and Rey remained dead? How would Ben be able to live with himself then? There was no life for him without these three women. Everything about his identity was contingent upon them. Who was he if he wasn't Ania and Rey's brother or Leia's son?

"Ben. Ben, look."

Blinking a few times, Ben stowed away his fears and returned to the present. "What?" he asked.

"Look."

Following his uncle's eyes, Ben saw something miraculous unfolding. The gruesome injuries to Rey's chest and Ania's sternum were healing themselves, sinews of flesh stretching and threading over the gaping holes. The color began to return to their faces, their deathly pale complexion giving way to a rosy hue.

"She did it! She saved them," Ben whispered, trembling with emotion.

"She did," Luke said, sounding considerably less excited than Ben. Indeed, he sounded downright depressed. Tearing his eyes away from his healing sisters, Ben watched as Luke took a step forward and leaned down by Leia's side. "Leia," he whispered, placing his hand on her back. "Can you hear me?"

Leia inhaled sharply and tore her hands away from Rey and Ania's. She shook violently, her back erect for a moment before she collapsed into Luke's arms. Startled, Ben rushed forward and fell to his knees on her other side.

"I've got you, I've got you," he heard Luke say, grimacing a bit as he repositioned Leia.

"What's wrong with her?" Ben asked. Luke didn't respond, his expression grim as he pushed Leia's hair out of her face.

"Ben?"

Swiveling his head to the left, Ben saw Rey and Ania squinting up at him as they both struggled to sit upright.

"Careful! Careful!" Ben exclaimed. "Don't hurt –" He stopped abruptly when he saw that the wounds were entirely gone, the patchwork of new flesh entirely indiscernible from the old.

"You'll look after them, won't you?" said a startlingly frail voice. Looking away from Ania and Rey, Ben froze when he saw his mother reaching up to place a hand on Luke's cheek. She was cradled in her brother's arms, the contended smile on her blue lips contrasting starkly with Luke's tearful expression.

"I won't let you down again, Leia," he said.

"I want… to see my son," Leia said, closing her eyes and sighing heavily. "Help me." Luke did as she asked, propping her head up against his chest and orienting them so she could look at Ben.

"Mom," he said, meeting her gaze.

"Come here," she said, extending a frail hand. Ben scooted forward, wiping his eyes with his sleeve as he did so. "Don't cry," she instructed. "I did what had to be done." Ben sniffled loudly and nodded resolutely, hoping to convey strength. His mother smiled at him as she reached out and placed her hand on his knee. "Look after your sisters for me," she said as Ben placed his own hand atop hers.

"I… I will," Ben said, startled by her use of the plural.

"Ben," she said, closing her eyes once again. "Forgive me… for not loving you…" She trailed off, swallowing hard as she struggled to get out the words. "For not loving you like I should have," she concluded.

In spite of her instruction, Ben felt a tear stream down his cheek. "I forgive you," he said, his voice thick with sorrow. "And I love you."

His mother opened her eyes one last time, her smile broadening as she looked off at something on the horizon. She took one last breath, and Ben saw all the pain drift away. The scars, the guilt, and the grief – all of it was now gone. For the first time, he saw Leia Skywalker completely at peace.

And then she was gone.


End file.
